Reuters: Thousands of Shi'ites march in Baghdad

[Eugene]

Thousands of Shi'ites march in Baghdad
Wed Aug 2, 2006 5:22am ET

By Omar al-Ibadi and Michael Georgy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of Shi'ite civilians charged with guarding neighborhoods
in Iraq marched through Baghdad on Wednesday in a show of force likely to stir passions
in a country ravaged by sectarian violence.

Young men in civilian uniforms and headbands, all members of what is known as the popular
committees, chanted as a speaker called on them to crush "terrorists" and loyalists
of ousted President Saddam Hussein leading a Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi'ite-led
government.

"Step on terrorism," he said.

The crowd included members of the Badr Organization, one of the armed Shi'ite groups Sunni
Arabs accuse of running militia death squads, a charge they deny.

-snip-

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose reconciliation plan has failed to ease sectarian
bloodshed, has promised to disband militias that many fear will push the country to civil war.

-snip-

Full article: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=TopNews&storyID=2006-08-02T093818Z_01_GEO743062_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml

Also: 9 People Killed in Iraq Violence - AP

[IndianaGreen]

1. And Israel is bombing Lebanon because it can't control Hezbollah?

So when is Israel, or its puppet America, going to bomb Iraq because its government cannot control militias like Badr Brigade?

[megatherium]

7. I thought Israel was the US's puppet. nt

[Jacobin]

8. vice versa, methinks

[megatherium]

10. Actually, I don't think so, either way.

It's mistaken to think of the US as being the puppet of Israel. Granted, Israel has a vigorous lobbying arm in the US, and there is an ongoing spying case involving an Israeli lobbying group. But does Israel have more influence than Saudi Arabia? I'm not so sure about that. The Saudis are said to be extremely generous with their friends in DC, but much more to the point, we are very dependent on the Saudi's primary export.

Israel may have wanted us to attack Iraq, but I think we had our own agenda there (oil), and there is reason to believe Iran wanted us to attack Iraq. (Logic: They wanted us to take out Saddam Hussein, they wanted the Shiites to gain the upper hand, and they wanted to tie us down to prevent what they knew would be our ultimate goal, to attack Iran. Evidence: It is known that Ahmed Chalabi, a man who vacations in Iran, was the source of dishonest 'intelligence' that Iraq had WMD and that the Iraqi people would welcome us.)

[Jacobin]

13. I'll settle for allied interests

with those in charge having perhaps different means but the same goals.

:hi:

[meganmonkey]

14. That's how I see it. This all goes beyond borders and nations

and into overlapping interests. Just as the terrorists we are supposed to be fighting aren't a state-based military, the imperialism and greed of the US & Israel in particular are not representative of their nations, but instead of individuals who are working together for common goals.

[katty]

15. Israel is a U.S. Colony, mutual business interests: defense & oil

[megatherium]

18. What fraction of the Israeli population immigrated from the US?

The founders of Israel, the original Zionists and the refugees who settled there before and immediately after WWII, were primarily European. But many Israelis are Jews from Arab lands. There used to be large Jewish populations in countries such as Iraq, but most of these have vanished -- before and immediately after the foundation of the state of Israel, large numbers of Jews were pushed out of the Arab lands which have had Jewish communities for thousands of years.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iraqijews.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. I thought we were already bombing Iraq

on a daily basis?

[Threedifferentones]

17. Weve been doing that since we took out Saddam Hussein.

[jpkenny]

2. America will soon learn that Sunni Arabs were much better allies than

the Shia their ill-advised invasion has turned loose. And the sad part about it is that America is doing nothing to protect the Sunnis who once carried out a proxy war for the US against Iran.

[IndianaGreen]

3. It's not too late to put Saddam back in power!

He was the only deterrent to Iran and the Shia in the region.

It's blowback time!

[adriennui]

6. biggest blunder of the bush presidency

was getting rid of saddam. he was a secular buffer against the fanatical shias and sunnis.

BTW, the US isn't israel's puppet, but you seem to be prone to hyperbole.

[54anickel]

16. Yes, even Poppy Bush understood that. But Jr had something to

prove to the old man. A freakin' dysfunctional family's spat has the entire world on the tipping point.

[xchrom]

5. bushco is trying to create a sunni block --

saudi arabi, eau, kuwait, -- and they would like to see syria join said block.

which makes your comment all the more ironic.

[jpkenny]

11. It's too late. If the more reasonable Sunni can ever talk sense to the

Shia to get them to come together to fight the common enemy...we are in deep doodoo.

[xchrom]

12. well part of the reason, by some more sinister types,

for creating a sunni block is to WIDEN the chasm between the sunni and shiite.

[bronxiteforever]

4. Nice going Georgie-you put in power

a group that hates America more than Saddam. Dad must be real proud.