Patrolling Iraq Police near the Iman Ali Mosque. These are the police that were trained with USA dollars and military advisors. Do you actually think they are going to turn on their Holy Men? I don't.
They see their relative privilege as contingent on the good will of the ruling Sunni al-Khalifas and are reluctant to jeopardize their position. (click here)
I have followed the progression of an Iraqi Cleric since the invasion of Iraq. He first caught my attention when Bremer shut down his newspaper. As I witnessed a Shia. A Shia Cleric seek shelter in a Mosque in Najaf during the battle 'described from a Pro-American' point of view, I took greater and greater interest with the reality that the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani had been wisked away from Najaf for a 'procedure' at the very time this invasion to destroy the Mahdi Army and Cleric al Sadr was underway.
At the time, I had already made up my mind there was something grossly wrong in Iraq. I had been following the USA attempts to 'dog' Cleric al Sadr into being a scapegoat for the anarchy that existed in Iraq. The Cleric has never held a weapon in his hands. He is a Holy Man. Of course everyone wants to pretend he is some kind of 'Master Mind' when in fact he is a religious leader and nothing else.
When Bush embarked on the military actions necessary by the USA following 911, every Holy Man in the USA and otherwise recognized 'the need' for the people of the USA to defend themselves and move against their enemies. The Holy Men provided 'moral' context to war.
That is basically the role of Clerics such as al Sadr and his 'new best friend' Nasrallah in Lebanon. They are Shi'ites. And as Shia they have a different path to Mohammad. All the Holy Men of Islam have a 'genetic' lineage to Mohammad. All this has been discussed over the years of this blog to exhaustion in forums just like this every 'flyin' weekend since I moved from the New York Times Message Boards to this blog.
At the time when the USA was rolling tanks through the narrow streets of Najaf the propaganda playing in the USA to justify the destruction of the Iman Ali Mosque was that it was 'The Alamo' all over again. The 'crap' the media was putting out at that time was disgusting. All I could do was to get out on The Times Message Boards and rant and rave for someone, anyone to find the Grand Ayatollah and return him to Kufa and Najaf to stop the insanity of the American military in destoying not just the Mosque but causing the death of a 'precious' lineaged Cleric to Mohammad. A Cleric the Shia of Southern Iraq 'saved' from Saddam's assassins and a Cleric whom they loved and abided by.
It happened. I was watching CNN waiting for the other American shoe to drop; the destruction of the mosque and the death of STILL ANOTHER Cleric of the Shi'ite bloodline.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
All of a sudden as the statements about the USA military being within arms reach of the Iman Ali Mosque were rolling off the tongues of the CNN anchors, there comes this announcement by Kera Phillips I believe it was. There were thousands of Shi'ites marching the path that the Iman Ali had marched from Kufa to Najaf. I believe the number was 10,000. There were reports of small arms fire and some 25 people died that day on the road of the Iman Ali.The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani had gotten up from his 'sick bed' in London where he was recovering from a cardiac procedure to reopen some heart vessels and flew to Kuwait and then by motor vehicle to Kufa for his return to his home in Najaf. He ordered his flock to march the path of the Iman. They did. He traveled without fear to his humble home in Najaf. The Grand Ayatollah had returned JUST IN TIME to stop the invasion and thwart any further actions by the USA military. What followed was the Iraqi leadership in Baghdad promising to meet the FIVE demands of Cleric al Sadr.
It was a great day. A very great day. A precious lineage had been preserved and the only man that could stop the heinous act of the American military had come from his sick bed to an insane call from an admirer. I consider the Grand Ayatollah a man of peace. He has yet to prove me wrong.
The rantings at CNN at the discovery of the twarted and acclaimed attacks of the USA military were completely laughable and I did laugh for as long as I heard Kera Phillips turn to the 'talking head general' and say, "...but there isn't anything the our military can do right now, right.? I mean they can't kill all those people now marching from Kufa to Najaf. Right?" The talking general started to come up with alternative battle strategies that would occur after the people had dissipated. Of course that never happened. Idiots all.
I am not Anti-American. I am Pro Peace. There is a huge difference and if Bush's insane strategy had worked that day, the Shia would be even further radicalized and turning to someone that had not been mentored by 'a man of peace' but by still another and more radicalized Cleric in Lebanon. The 'extremes' of Iran would become more extreme and the 'calm' that mostly exists in Southern Iraq would never exist. See. The peace that exists in Southern Iraq is more proof of the power of the Ayatollah and his mentored Cleric than anyone wants to admit.
The American media always proclaims 'The Bush Surge' as the reason for the 'lull' in Iraq. The truth is simply that the militias decided to try a 'cease fire.' Just that simple. And the ones that are attempting a cease fire are those of the SHI'ITES. How about that, huh?
Iraqi cleric threatens to end militia freeze unless attacks stop (click here)
Michael Howard in Baghdad
Friday February 1, 2008
The Guardian
Senior aides to the powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday warned the US and the Iraqi government that a six-month freeze on the activities of their militia may not be extended unless the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, takes steps to halt attacks on Sadr's followers.
Sadr's order to his Jaish al-Mahdi militia is regarded as a vital component of the nationwide downturn in violence during the past half year. Fighters loyal to Sadr had been blamed for fuelling the sectarian violence that gripped Baghdad and religiously mixed areas to the north and south of the capital. A renewal of their activities could undo much of the recent progress in security on the ground and stir up tensions among Iraq's Shia Muslims....
