Dahr Jamail: re/mosque bombing: Who Benefits?

2006-02-26

Richard Moore

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Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:54:14 -0700
To: •••@••.•••
From: •••@••.•••
Subject: Iraq Dispatches: Who Benefits?

** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **
** Visit the Dahr Jamail Iraq website http://dahrjamailiraq.com **
** Website by http://jeffpflueger.com **

    February 24, 2006

       Who Benefits?

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 CPAŠbut 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 where 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 called for 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 mosquesŠ"

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'athistsŠGod 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.

(c)2004, 2005 Dahr Jamail.

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