Dahr Jamail The most important question to ask regarding the bombings of the Golden Mosque in Samarra on the 22nd is: who benefits? Prior to asking this question, let us note the timing of the bombing. The last weeks in Iraq have been a PR disaster for the occupiers. First, the negative publicity of the video of British soldiers beating and abusing young Iraqis has generated a backlash for British occupation forces they,ve yet to face in Iraq. Indicative of this, Abdul Jabbar Waheed, the head of the Misan provincial council in southern Iraq, announced his councils, decision to lift the immunity British forces have enjoyed, so that the soldiers who beat the young Iraqis can be tried in Iraqi courts. Former U.S. proconsul Paul Bremer had issued an order granting all occupation soldiers and western contractors immunity to Iraqi law when he was head of the CPA but this province has now decided to lift that so the British soldiers can be investigated and tried under Iraqi law. This deeply meaningful event, if replicated around Iraq, will generate a huge rift between the occupiers and local governments. A rift which, of course, the puppet government in Baghdad will be unable to mend. The other huge event which drew Iraqis into greater solidarity with one another was more photos and video aired depicting atrocities within Abu Ghraib at the hands of U.S. occupation forces. The inherent desecration of Islam and shaming of the Iraqi people shown in these images enrages all Iraqis. In a recent press conference, the aforementioned Waheed urged the Brits to allow members of the provincial committee to visit a local jail to check on detainees; perhaps Waheed is alarmed as to what their condition may be after seeing more photos and videos from Abu Ghraib. Waheed also warned British forces that if they didn,t not comply with the demands of the council, all British political, security and reconstruction initiatives will be boycotted. Basra province has already taken similar steps, and similar machinations are occurring in Kerbala. Basra and Misan provinces, for example, refused to raise the cost of petrol when the puppet government in Baghdad, following orders from the IMF, decided to recently raise the cost of Iraqi petrol at the pumps several times last December. The horrific attack which destroyed much of the Golden Mosque generated sectarian outrage which led to attacks on over 50 Sunni mosques. Many Sunni mosques in Baghdad were shot, burnt, or taken over. Three Imans were killed, along with scores of others in widespread violence. This is what was shown by western corporate media. As quickly as these horrible events began, they were called to an end and replaced by acts of solidarity between Sunni and Shia across Iraq. This, however, was not shown by western corporate media. The Sunnis were the first to go to demonstrations of solidarity with Shia in Samarra, as well as to condemn the mosque bombings. Demonstrations of solidarity between Sunni and Shia went off over all of Iraq: in Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, Kut, and Salah al-Din. Thousands of Shia marched shouting anti-American slogans through Sadr City, the huge Shia slum area of Baghdad, which is home to nearly half the population of the capital city. Meanwhile, in the primarily Shia city of Kut, south of Baghdad, thousands marched while shouting slogans against America and Israel and burning U.S. and Israeli flags. Baghdad had huge demonstrations of solidarity, following announcements by several Shia religious leaders not to attack Sunni mosques. Attacks stopped after these announcements, coupled with those from Sadr, which I,ll discuss shortly. Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, shortly after the Golden Mosque was attacked, called for "easing things down and not attacking any Sunni mosques and shrines, as Sunni religious authorities calledfor a truce and invited everyone to block the way of those trying to generate a sectarian war. Sistani,s office issued this statement: "We call upon believers to express their protest ... through peaceful means. The extent of their sorrow and shock should not drag them into taking actions that serve the enemies who have been working to lead Iraq into sectarian strife. Shiite religious authority Ayatollah Hussein Ismail al-Sadr warned of the emergence of a sectarian strife "that terrorists want to ignite between the Iraqis by the bombings and said, "The Iraqi Shiite authority strenuously denied that Sunnis could have done this work. He also said, "Of course it is not Sunnis who did this work; it is the terrorists who are the enemies of the Shiites and Sunni, Muslims and non Muslims. They are the enemies of all religions; terrorism does not have a religion. He warned against touching any Sunni Mosque, saying, "our Sunni brothers, mosques must be protected and we must all stand against terrorism and sabotage. He added: The two shrines are located in the Samarra region, which [is] predominantly Sunni. They have been protecting, using and guarding the mosques for years, it is not them but terrorism that targeted the mosques He ruled out the possibility of a civil war while telling a reporter, "I don,t believe there will a civil or religious war in Iraq; thank God that our Sunni and Shiite references are urging everyone to not respond to these terrorist and sabotage acts. We are aware of their attempts as are our people; Sistani had issued many statements [regarding this issue] just as we did. The other, and more prominent Sadr, Muqtada Al-Sadr, who has already lead two uprisings against occupation forces, held Takfiris [those who regard other Muslims as infidels], Ba,thists, and especially the foreign occupation responsible for the bombing attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra. Sadr, who suspended his visit to Lebanon and cancelled his meeting with the president there, promptly returned to Iraq in order to call on the Iraqi parliament to vote on the request for the departure of the occupation forces from Iraq. "It was not the Sunnis who attacked the shrine of Imam Al-Hadi, God,s peace be upon him, but rather the occupation [forces] and Ba,athists God damn them. We should not attack Sunni mosques. I ordered Al-Mahdi Army to protect the Shi,i and Sunni shrines. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, urged Iraqi Shia not to seek revenge against Sunni Muslims, saying there were definite plots "to force the Shia to attack the mosques and other properties respected by the Sunni. Any measure to contribute to that direction is helping the enemies of Islam and is forbidden by sharia. Instead, he blamed the intelligence services of the U.S. and Israel for being behind the bombs at the Golden Mosque. British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that those who committed the attack on the Golden Mosque "have only one motive: to create a violent sedition between the Sunnis and the Shiites in order to derail the Iraqi rising democracy from its path. Well said Mr. Blair, particularly when we keep in mind the fact that less than a year ago in Basra, two undercover British SAS soldiers were detained by Iraqi security forces whilst traveling in a car full of bombs and remote detonators. Jailed and accused by Muqtada al-Sadr and others of attempting to generate sectarian conflict by planting bombs in mosques, they were broken out of the Iraqi jail by the British military before they could be tried. See also
Iraq shrine bombing was specialist job: minister Fri Feb 24, 2006 BAGHDAD (AFP) - The bombing of a revered Shiite shrine which sparked a wave of violence in Iraq was the work of specialists, Construction Minister Jassem Mohammed Jaafar said Friday, adding that the placing of the explosives must have taken at least 12 hours. "According to initial reports, the bombing was technically well conceived and could only have been carried out by specialists," the minister told Iraqia state television. Jaafar, who toured the devastated thousand-year-old shrine on Thursday a day after the bombing which brought down its golden dome, said "holes were dug into the mausoleum's four main pillars and packed with explosives." "Then the charges were connected together and linked to another charge placed just under the dome. The wires were then linked to a detonator which was triggered at a distance," the minister added. To drill into the pillars would have taken at least four hours per pillar, he also estimated. Damage to the mausoleum, holding the tombs of the 10th and 11th Shiite Imams, was extensive. "The dome was completely wrecked and collapsed on the tombs which were covered over by debris. The shrine's foundations were also affected as 40 percent of the power of the blast was directed inwards," he added. "It's a historic site, a symbol of Iraqi culture and must be treated as such," he said, adding that he would call on Iraqi officials and on UNESCO to help rebuilt the golden mosque. Jaafar said he survived a double bomb attack while returning from Samarra when blasts went off in front of his convoy and behind it. [/url]
Another cultural treasure goes :cry: What are the timeframes plotted ? If one concludes that this is a western job, what are the muslim alternatives ? Maybe it all goes away if I close my eyes ...
Regardless of the culprit, this is an act of terrorism. It would be a shame to see the occupation doing something like this to further there own agenda. I'm more inclined to think it was Baathist factions that would have done this, seeing as how derailing the current Iraqi regime would be most likely to further their objectives, not the objectives of the occupation forces.
In spite of religious leaders calling for an end to the sectarian killings, they continue, and have actually grown worse.
What the hell does anyone stand in plunging thier own country into civil war? I'm pretty sure everyone over there agrees we caused all this shit, and that they're trying to focus their efforts accordingly.
Who cares it over oil, All the post and BS you post about it will not change the fact. Bush will never pull the troops out you are a fruit loop if you think you will ever change anything.
The religious killing between the Sunni and Shii'te, you can hardly blame that on the United States. They've been fighting amongst themselves for quite some time now.
So these guys invade the USA and later on there seems to be some sectarian violence going on. "Well you can hardly blame that on the Ruskies. After all, the black and white baptists have been going on for a while now". The truth is that the USA has a responsibility as occupying power. Lets look at it this way then. Your guys kille the old king and make the baath-party the new thing in town, since they are wieved as a good alternative to the communist party. Then all of iraqs oilfortune is wasted on weapons used to fight another country. Iran, were your guys have killed the elected politician and instated their deposed king. No blame USA for sectarian violence. Even if your guys in camouflage are innocent and pure of all charges laied against them by independent reporters of Joes fringe-mainstream leftleaning propagandamedia. Even then, USA is still guilty, ( Together with its siamese freak empire britain and all the slobbering small crawlies of the industrialised world )
How does all out civil war increase the Ba'athist portion of the resistance's chances to secure power? For one, it would give the U.S. occupation more excuse to prolong its stay in Iraq, and reduce chances of solidarity between different factions of the resistance necessary to eject the invaders. Whoever perpetrated this act intends to drive a giant gulf between Sunnis and Shi'ias greater than has ever existed. What i find remarkable is the level of conditioning that still prevails amongst so many well educated, intelligent people to the extent that no matter how much is known about the ruthlessness, corruption and nihilism of the Neocons, after six long years of their tyranny, when it comes down to it, a reluctance to accept the reality of those qualities as they translate down on the ground occurs. They just can't believe that those with names like Bush, Cheney, Perle, Wolfowitz, Kissinger, Negroponte et al who used fabricated evidence to launch a full scale attack of genocidal proportions against an innocent country in order to fulfill a Straussian agenda are really capable of committing such heinous, depraved acts. "Yeah they're bad, but not THAT bad. It can only be those backwards, crazy foreigners who did it...afterall, we in the west have a bottom line!" And they just can't bring themselves to accept the possibility of westerners perpetrating such wickedness. And there's the visible point of their conditioning. Well, better wake up fast because they have a shock coming. We've seen nothing yet. At the moment, our fascist elite are still keeping up the 'nice faces'. The herds are getting a little startled and uneasy, but the ranchers keep a facade of calm and make soothing gestures until they have them completeley encircled with fences, avoiding triggering a mass stampede before the trap is fully constructed. Then the masks can fall and the brutality become all too apparent.
Western herds ? I thought we were the ones getting the benefits of this global war of terror ? The right to continue to waste oil energy on empty vacations behind the safe perimeter of barbed wire and security. ( Dont mind the waiters ). But refuting this developement is the fact that a current state of mind prevalent among most arabs, ( Yes Nursey! The jews did it and its a worldwide conspiracy ), makes it possible for Al Quaeda to gain political support by such a bombing as this one. It fits their modus opperandi as well. Anyone remember the twin statues of Buddha in Afghanistan ?
Don't be silly. Just the 'ranchers' benefit with what's currently happening. I thought that much was fairly apparent already? How much wealth has been transferred from the working and middle classes to the ruling elite since Bush came to power? Something phenomenol. The rats know the ship is sinking, and are draining the country's coffers before they abandon. 'The Land of the Free' is on its way to becoming a Halliburton run gulag. [quote="XerxesX]But refuting this developement is the fact that a current state of mind prevalent among most arabs, ( Yes Nursey! The jews did it and its a worldwide conspiracy ), makes it possible for Al Quaeda to gain political support by such a bombing as this one. It fits their modus opperandi as well. [/quote] Al Qaeda? You mean the C.I.A. database?
Of course the fundamentalists are partly infiltrated by western intelligence ( Or stupidity ). This does not mean that they are running the show. ( Thats for the base ). I remember you used a quote from a mid-war zionist leader to claim that the jewish settlers used the Holocaust. The heebs payed furtunes to those shiny leather boots of national modernity. It should be unneccesary to quote scripture on why there are flaws in the Nazi cooperation with jewish resettlement. That they refused "discussions" with the superman-states program of modernisation should not surprise such a knowledgeable person as yourself. It is true that we are all meat in the big grinder. Our masters still produce smaller cellphones and faster computers and other stupid stuff that is at the level most people really care about. Talking cars and shiny fabrics to wear. The new world order can not be faulted with the existence of human folly. A reduction in the production and consumption of consumerist-propaganda requires a better collaboration wold wide.
