[Vision2020] Iraq on the brink of civil war?
Ron Force
rforce@moscow.com
Mon, 5 Apr 2004 10:09:53 -0700
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0014_01C41AF6.23664B40
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Why the violence now? Here's an editorial from the St Louis Post Dispatch
coverning the precipitating incident:
DEMOCRACY IS MESSY
AMERICAN PROCONSUL'S Paul Bremer's decision Sunday to padlock a hostile
Baghdad newspaper for 60 days antagonized radical Shiite Muslims in Baghdad,
gave their leader the notoriety he craved and brought more angry people into
streets already full of angry people.
It also violated a truth that Mr. Bremer himself had espoused just last
month: "Democracy is messy...what's tidy is dictatorship. We did that here,
and that's gone and they're glad it's gone. Now we have democracy and it's
untidy, it's complicated."
Mr. Bremer, the administrator of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional
Authority, Sunday ordered U.S. troops to close the offices of the weekly
Arabic-language newspaper Al Hawza. The eight-page broadsheet is the voice
of Moqtada al-Sadr, a young Shiite cleric who has become a major irritant to
Mr. Bremer.
A coalition spokesman said the newspaper had incited violence, created
instability and printed stories that were outright fabrications, including
one that blamed the Feb. 10 car bombing of a police station south of Baghdad
on a U.S. rocket. That attack killed 53 people, most of them new police
recruits.
Mr. Sadr, 31, is the son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq
al-Sadr, who was assassinated by Saddam Hussein's forces in 1999 in an
attack that the younger Mr. Sadr narrowly escaped. The son inherited not
only his father's network of schools and mosques, but also his rivalry with
the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, widely regarded as the most important
Shiite leader.
Ayatollah Sistani has at times been marginally cooperative with the
coalition, but Mr. Sadr has called for resistance to the U.S.-led
occupation. The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations reports he was rumored to
be forming his own militia, the "Imam Mehdi Army" to support his political
movement and impose order.
Mr. Sadr's base of support is within a place named after his father, the
sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr (formerly Saddam) City in Baghdad. Mr. Bremer
judged that arresting Mr. Sadr for inciting violence would be too explosive,
so he closed his newspaper instead. The Iraqi people who clogged the streets
in protest quickly saw through the hypocrisy.
There is ample precedent for newspapers fomenting political unrest,
including right here in the United States. The Founding Fathers saw fit to
specifically protect press freedom in the First Amendment. To the extent the
U.S. invaded Iraq to bring it democracy, freedom of the press has to be part
of the package.
**********************************************
Ron Force Moscow ID USA
rforce@moscow.com
**********************************************
Is Iraq slipping into civil war? It's certainly beginning to look that
way. A long-dreaded second front opened this past weekend; according to
another piece in the NY Times, not a single checkpoint manned by the
much-touted, U.S.-trained Iraqi policemen held. Next stop? The Kurds in
the north declare their independence, opening front #3.
The June 30th handover to the Iraqi Civil Authority will probably take
place as scheduled, but it will be a farce. We're in this for the long,
bloody, demoralizing haul.
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
------=_NextPart_000_0014_01C41AF6.23664B40
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY=20
style=3D"BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FONT: 10pt =
verdana; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<DIV><SPAN class=3D093390117-05042004>Why the violence now? Here's =
an=20
editorial from the St Louis Post Dispatch coverning the precipitating=20
incident:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D093390117-05042004></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D093390117-05042004></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><!--StartFragment --> DEMOCRACY IS MESSY<BR class=3Dbr></DIV>
<DIV>AMERICAN PROCONSUL'S Paul Bremer's decision Sunday to padlock a =
hostile=20
Baghdad newspaper for 60 days antagonized radical Shiite Muslims in =
Baghdad,=20
gave their leader the notoriety he craved and brought more angry people =
into=20
streets already full of angry people.<BR class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>It =
also violated=20
a truth that Mr. Bremer himself had espoused just last month: "Democracy =
is=20
messy...what's tidy is dictatorship. We did that here, and that's gone =
and=20
they're glad it's gone. Now we have democracy and it's untidy, it's=20
complicated." <BR class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>Mr. Bremer, the =
administrator of the=20
U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, Sunday ordered U.S. troops to =
close=20
the offices of the weekly Arabic-language newspaper Al Hawza. The =
eight-page=20
broadsheet is the voice of Moqtada al-Sadr, a young Shiite cleric who =
has become=20
a major irritant to Mr. Bremer.<BR class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>A coalition =
spokesman=20
said the newspaper had incited violence, created instability and printed =
stories=20
that were outright fabrications, including one that blamed the Feb. 10 =
car=20
bombing of a police station south of Baghdad on a U.S. rocket. That =
attack=20
killed 53 people, most of them new police recruits.<BR class=3Dbr><BR =
class=3Dbr>Mr.=20
Sadr, 31, is the son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq =
al-Sadr, who=20
was assassinated by Saddam Hussein's forces in 1999 in an attack that =
the=20
younger Mr. Sadr narrowly escaped. The son inherited not only his =
father's=20
network of schools and mosques, but also his rivalry with the Grand =
Ayatollah=20
Ali al-Sistani, widely regarded as the most important Shiite leader.<BR=20
class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>Ayatollah Sistani has at times been marginally =
cooperative=20
with the coalition, but Mr. Sadr has called for resistance to the =
U.S.-led=20
occupation. The U.S. Council on Foreign Relations reports he was rumored =
to be=20
forming his own militia, the "Imam Mehdi Army" to support his political =
movement=20
and impose order.<BR class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>Mr. Sadr's base of =
support is within=20
a place named after his father, the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr =
(formerly=20
Saddam) City in Baghdad. Mr. Bremer judged that arresting Mr. Sadr for =
inciting=20
violence would be too explosive, so he closed his newspaper instead. The =
Iraqi=20
people who clogged the streets in protest quickly saw through the =
hypocrisy.<BR=20
class=3Dbr><BR class=3Dbr>There is ample precedent for newspapers =
fomenting=20
political unrest, including right here in the United States. The =
Founding=20
Fathers saw fit to specifically protect press freedom in the First =
Amendment. To=20
the extent the U.S. invaded Iraq to bring it democracy, freedom of the =
press has=20
to be part of the package. </DIV>
<P>**********************************************<BR>Ron=20
Force Moscow ID <SPAN=20
class=3D093390117-05042004>USA</SPAN></P>
<P><A href=3D"mailto:rforce@moscow.com">rforce@<SPAN=20
class=3D093390117-05042004>moscow.com</A></SPAN><BR>*********************=
*************************=20
</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr style=3D"MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT=20
face=3DTahoma><BR></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Is Iraq slipping into civil war? It's certainly beginning =
to look=20
that way. A long-dreaded second front opened this past =
weekend;=20
according to another piece in the NY Times, not a single =
checkpoint=20
manned by the much-touted, U.S.-trained Iraqi policemen held. =
Next=20
stop? The Kurds in the north declare their independence, opening =
front=20
#3.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The June 30th handover to the Iraqi Civil Authority will probably =
take=20
place as scheduled, but it will be a farce. We're in this for =
the long,=20
bloody, demoralizing haul.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</DIV>
=
<DIV>--------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_0014_01C41AF6.23664B40--