Najaf Tense; Veterans Depressed, Unemployed
By Juan Cole
21/04/08 "ICH"
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Ned Parker, Raheem Salman and Saad
Fakhrildeen get the story in Najaf, the
Shiite holy city south of Baghdad.
The four grand ayatollahs, pillars of
middle and upper class Shiite orthodoxy,
are fearful of the influence of young Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the
millenarian workers and the poor. The
authors do not note the irony, but I
thought it amusing that both sides were
blaming Iran for their troubles, which
suggests that the troubles are
indigenous. It is an excellent article;
I wish it had said more about the
Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, from
which the governor comes, and the Badr
Corps, from which the deputy governor
comes; both have strong Iran ties and
they are the powers that be in Najaf; it
is they the Mahdi Army mainly
challenges, not just the four grand
ayatollahs. Also, they did not say
anything about the rumors that the chief
grand ayatollah, Ali Sistani, is in bad
health.
Rice has her 'bring'em on moment'
in
Iraq, talking trash to the Mahdi Army
and calling Muqtada al-Sadr a 'coward.'
Muqtada al-Sadr eluded Saddam Hussein
for 4 years after Saddam killed his
father and two elder brothers; and in
2004 he twice took on the US military.
He may be a lot of things, but he is not
a coward. Has Rice ever said anything
about Iraq that was true or useful? Even
as she was talking up 'improved
security' in Baghdad, mortar shells were
falling about her in the Green Zone.
Over the weekend there were clashes in
Nasiriya between Mahdi Army
militiamen and the Iraqi army. Although
this official Iraqi government
communique suggests that 40 militiamen
were killed and 40 captured and does not
mention government casualties, I'd take
it all with a grain of salt. What is not
apparent from the squib is that the
Iraqi government is so weak it is having
to fight for a toehold in one of its own
cities.
Another mass grave found in Iraq.
These sites are evidence of militia
activity-- the victims were likely
either accused of collaboration with the
central government or members of the
opposite religious sect.
The American Right is always droning on
about the need to support our troops
(i.e. to support the Right's war). But
the rich who send poor young men off to
foreign wars of course don't really care
about the young men themselves (because
they don't care about the poor in
general; right wing politicians are
elected by the rich, for the rich and of
the rich). Cases in point:
Health care eludes Iraq vet.
Veterans having a hard time finding jobs.
A third of a million veterans who served
in Afghanistan and Iraq are depressed,
suffering from PTSD (the proportion
suffering is about 1 in five).
The way to support our troops is to get
them out of a fruitless and unnecessary
war, before more thousands are killed
and wounded, whether physically or
psychologically or socially.
Tom Engelhardt gives 12 reasons to get
out of Iraq.
McClatchy reports political violence
in Iraq on Sunday:
' Baghdad
Around 11:00 pm on Saturday, a mortar shell hit al Qanat Street in east Baghdad. No casualties reported.
Around 1:30 a.m. four mortar shells hit al Husseiniyah area in north Baghdad. No casualties reported.
Seven civilians were wounded when a Katyosha rocket hit a house in Abo Desheer neighborhood ij south Baghdad around 8:00 a.m.
Clashes broke out between Mahdi army militia and the Iraqi national police in New Baghdad area in east Baghdad around 10:00 a.m. No information about the casualties provided on time of publication.
Clashes broke out between Mahdi army militia and the American forces in Kubra al Ghizlan area in the outskirt of Sadr city in east Baghdad around 11:00 am. No casualties reported on time of publication.
2 civilians were killed and 14 others wounded when two mortar shells hit Kadhemiyah neighborhood north Baghdad around 5:00 p.m.
Five people were wounded including two policemen when a road side bomb exploded targeting the police patrol in New Baghdad neighborhood in east Baghdad around 7:00 p.m.
Two policemen were killed and four others wounded by a bombed placed bicycle in Abo Graib area west of Baghdad around 8:30 p.m.
Police found six unidentified bodies throughout Baghdad (2 bodies in Jisr Diyala, 1 body in Zayuna, 1 body in New Baghdad, 1 body in Bayaa and 1 body in Amil)
Diyala
Gunmen set a fake check point kidnapping three vehicles including a bus carries nine students from the University of Diyala while they were in their way to the university. The incident took place in the area between Muqdadiyah town and Kanan area east of Baquba around 9:00 a.m. The gunmen released the nine students and kept the three drivers.
Around 9:00 a.m. gunmen attacked a car carrying a policeman and his pregnant wife while they were in their way to the hospital. The incident took place in Wajihiyah area east of Baquba. The gunmen killed the policeman and the taxi driver and injured the wife.
The commander of the Diyala operations Major General Abdul Kareem al Ubaidi said that the Iraqi security forces and the Sahwa members found 30 bodies in a mass grave yard in Muqdadiyah town northeast of Baquba. Al Rubaie said that another mass grave yard was found in al Botoma village north of Baquba city confirming that 27 bodies were from the yard moved to the morgue of Diyala hospital.
Kirkuk
Gunmen killed two contractors near al Rashad area west Kirkuk on Sunday morning.
Nineveh
Police found the bodies of two members of the local council of Sinjar town west of Mosul city. The two members of the council were kidnapped on Saturday evening.
Salahuddin
Gunmen killed a police officer in front of his house in Soleman Beg town east of Tikrit around 10:00 p.m.'Juan Cole is President of the Global Americana Institute
