This just stinks of US meddling. CUI BONO?
Who benefits from the Shia celebrations being disrupted?
Pious Muslims just simply wouldn't do this. Something stinks, and I'm not going to find the truth in the Zionist-controlled press.
And now this stinkfuck wants $50 BILLION more for his "surge?"
FUCK HIM!!! FUCK HIM!!!!
I am tired of his NEGLECT and INDIFFERENCE to what we want!!!
NO MORE FUCKING MONEY and NO MORE FUCKING WARS, assholes!!!!!!!!!!
"50 Killed at Religious Festival in Iraq" by Stephen Farrell/New York Times August 29, 2007
BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 — A power struggle between rival Shiite groups erupted during a religious festival in Karbala today, as gunmen with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades fought street battles amid crowds of pilgrims, killing 50 people and wounding 200, Iraqi officials said.
[Gunmen = Blackwaters?
What do they do all day long, and why do we never hear about it?]
Witnesses said members of the Mahdi Army, the militia of cleric Moktada al-Sadr, traded fire with security forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government.
[I thought he was on Malaki's side? That's always the criticism. WTF?
Malaki doing our bidding, while the shit MSM lies to us some more?]
During hours of fighting, several vehicles and a hotel for pilgrims were set ablaze, and terrified pilgrims who had been praying at two shrines were trapped inside as clashes erupted nearby. Witnesses said buses that had been used to bring pilgrims to the city were bullet-shattered and bloodstained.
The government forces in Karbala and other towns in southern Iraq are dominated by the religious party the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and its armed wing, the Badr organization. Many of Badr’s fighters are veterans trained by Iran during two decades when they lived as exiles there under Saddam Hussein’s regime.
[So if the Badr's fight the Sadr's, then they are our ... friend? WTF?]
Tensions between the Mahdi Army and the Badr group have been simmering for months. Both are vying for control of the overwhelmingly Shiite regions of central and southern Iraq. Two provincial governors belonging to the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council were assassinated in southern Iraq this month, although the Sadrists deny involvement.
Here is a web add-in, so I hold my breath to see what's been cut:
This political and military rivalry is also fueled by competing loyalties to two of the most prominent Shiite religious families in Iraq: the Hakims and the Sadrs.
Mr. Sadr’s credentials as a religious leader are boosted enormously by the prestige of his late father and cousin, both revered Shiite leaders who were assassinated by Mr. Hussein. The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council was founded by Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, a well-known politician and cleric who was himself assassinated in 2003 and whose father was mentor to the founder of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
OK, back to the printed page:
The showdown will prove embarrassing for Prime Minister Maliki if his security forces are unable to control the Mahdi Army and restore order in a holy city that lies in his own Shiite heartland.
Security forces imposed an indefinite curfew on Karbala by nightfall, fearing that the Sadr-Badr tensions could escalate as both sides vied for control of the streets.
The violence appeared to spread to other cities, although attacks on mosques and offices linked to the Badr group were on a much smaller scale. In Baghdad, the police said five people were killed and 20 were wounded in clashes between militiamen in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City.
Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, an Interior Ministry spokesman in Baghdad, told Iraqi state television that reinforcements were being rushed to Karbala from Baghdad and surrounding provinces.
The American military did not intervene directly in the fighting, a spokeswoman said, though it sent jets to fly over Karbala as a “show of force” at the request of the Iraqi authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims had descended on Karbala in recent days to celebrate the birth of Mohammad al-Mahdi, the 9th-century saint and the last of 12 imams revered by Shiites.
[That sounds interesting, and I'd like to know more about it.
But nooooo, the chaos ruined it!! I smell a western black-op stink!]
As pilgrims gathered in a plaza between the city’s twin golden-domed shrines, witnesses said Mahdi Army fighters took up positions around the shrines and traded fire with the police. Pilgrims fled in panic but were unable to get transportation out of the area as the police set up roadblocks to prevent Mahdi Army fighters from entering.
A policeman speaking from his position in the plaza between the city’s two shrines said: “Hundreds of Mahdi Army have occupied several hotels near the two shrines. The battle is fierce and we are defending our posts here.”
Amid the narrow, medieval alleyways of Karbala confusion reigned, with an unconfirmed report that the Mahdi Army had taken control of the shrines, while the security forces remained in control of their checkpoints in the center of the city.
A pilgrim reached by telephone at the height of the fighting, said:
“I am inside the shrine of Imam Hussein. The shooting is so heavy outside, and I can’t leave the shrine. I don’t know exactly what is going on outside, but the clashes seem close to the shrine.”
Women could be heard shouting in panic in the background.
[Muslims wouldn't do this!
They would not fire near the shrines unless provoked, especially with women around!
The question is: WHO provoked them?
Couldn't be? Could it?]
The tensions in Karbala began Monday, with confrontations between Sadr supporters and the Badr-dominated security forces around the shrines. Those forces are on a constant state of high alert after suicide bombings by Sunni insurgents at Shiite religious festivals in previous years.
Sadrists said the police who carried out body searches and magnetic scans at checkpoints provoked their followers by beating pilgrims who chanted pro-Sadr slogans. Other reports said that Mahdi Army followers accompanying pilgrims and claiming to be protecting them were prohibited from taking their weapons into the shrines.
Iraqi officials said those initial clashes escalated on Monday night when police attacked the al-Mukhayam mosque, a Mahdi Army stronghold in Karbala, and arrested around 20 fighters. The Mahdi Army retaliated this morning, the police said, by attacking security force positions.
[ATTACKED a MOSQUE, huh? BLASPHEMERS!!!!!!!!!]
Gunmen also attacked Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council offices and mosques in Sadr City, Shuala, Jadriya, Husseiniya, Khadimiya, and Diwaniya.
[Muslims attacking mosques? That have stood for hundreds of years?
The bigger the shit lie... the more the Amurkn public will eat it!]
Haydar Abbas, a lecturer in law at the University of Babil in central Iraq, said it was significant that the confrontation took place at a time when the Sadrists appeared to feel increasingly marginalized. Mr. Sadr’s followers left the government earlier this year over a disagreement with Prime Minister Maliki about the continued American troop presence in Iraq. The Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council is the largest Shiite Party in the government.
[So the government the US created has close ties to... Iran?
What a fucking mess!! Great going, Georgie, you lying fucking failure!]
Mr. Abbas said the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council’s influence had been growing:
“They have a lot of power over Maliki. What is going on is a message from the Sadrists that we are here and we will not withdraw easily. If we read the history of the two movements, the Badrists and the Mahdi Army, we see that both were military factions turned into political powers. This means that they might revert at any time to their military nature.”
[Gee, the Shia militias reflect American society, except we call them our militarists DemocraPs and RepuGlicans!]
Last night, each side sought to blame each other for the fighting. The Sadr office in Najaf issued a statement from Mr. Sadr appealing for calm:
“We want to clear up the misunderstanding that happened in Karbala. This crisis is not connected with the Mahdi Army or Sadr movement. The incidents that happened were between the pilgrims and the government forces.”
Prime Minister Maliki’s office issued a statement calling its opponents “armed criminals and followers of the old regime” and saying that order had been restored to the streets."
[WTF happened there yesterday?
The more you read this confusing crap, the more likely I am to think I'm right!
Let's try another source:]
"Shiite Gunmen Clash at Karbala Festival" by Robert H. Reid/Associated Press August 29, 2007
BAGHDAD - Fighting erupted Tuesday between rival Shiite militias in Karbala during a religious festival, claiming 51 lives and forcing officials to abort the celebrations and order up to 1 million Shiite pilgrims to leave the southern city.
[Yup, WRECKED the PARTY! Now WHO would want that?
Who would want to kill Muslim joy?]
Security officials said Mahdi Army gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired on guards around two shrines protected by the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
Residents of Karbala contacted by telephone said snipers were firing on Iraqi security forces from rooftops. Explosions and the rattle of automatic weapons fire could be heard during telephone calls to reporters in the city 50 miles south of Baghdad.
[That could have been anybody! Blackwaters maybe?]
In addition to the deaths, security officials said at least 247 people were wounded, including women and children.
Gunfights also broke out Tuesday between Mahdi militiamen and followers of the Supreme Council in at least two Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, police said. And extra police took up positions in the center of another Shiite city, Diwaniyah, after gunmen fired on a mosque associated with the Supreme Council, police said.
[Another mosque attacked? BLASPHEMERS!!!!!!!]
The trouble started in Karbala late Monday as tens of thousands of Shiites were streaming into the city for the Shabaniyah festival marking the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century. Devout Shiites believe he will return to Earth to restore peace and harmony.
[And I await him, along with the rest of the people of the world!
Sorry, Christians!
Jesus is coming back, but he is going to be a MUSLIM!!!!
Will you still feed and clothe him, or will you call him a terrorist?]
Scuffles broke out between police and pilgrims as the crowd tried to push through the security checkpoints near the Imam al-Hussein mosque, the focal point of the celebrations. At least five people were killed, police said.
Early yesterday, crowds of angry pilgrims chanting religious slogans surged through the streets, attacking police and mosque guards, witnesses said. Two ambulances were set ablaze, sending a huge column of black smoke over the city.
Gunmen appeared, firing automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at security forces and sending panicked pilgrims fleeing the area, police and witnesses said.
[Gunmen appeared? Were they Blackwaters?]
A member of the city council said the center of town was in chaos, with pilgrims running in all directions to escape the gunfire.
The councilman, who wouldn't allow use of his name for security reasons: "We don't know what's going on. All we know is the huge numbers of pilgrims were too much for the checkpoints to handle and now there is shooting."
Some rounds struck fuel tanks on the roofs of three small hotels, setting them ablaze, police said. With the situation spiraling out of control, police ordered pilgrims out of the center of the city, effectively canceling the celebrations which were to reach their climax Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
[Boooooooo!!! Yup, wrecking the fun! No Muslim would do this!]
Khalaf, the Interior Ministry spokesman: "The area where they (the pilgrims) were gathering has been evacuated in order to control those (criminals)."
He said the gunmen were gathering in three areas in the old town and security forces were chasing them.
In Baghdad, a senior government security official blamed the fighting on al-Sadr's followers, saying they provoked the confrontations Monday night and were responsible for the shooting Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid enflaming the situation.
Tensions have been rising in southern Iraq as rival Shiite groups maneuver for power, especially in the oil-rich area around Basra, Iraq's second-largest city. Concern over Basra is mounting as British forces prepare to evacuate the last of their forces from the city and redeploy to the airport 12 miles to the north.
On Tuesday, Hakim al-Miyahi, head of the security committee of the Basra municipal council, told The Associated Press that Iraqi forces were incapable of maintaining order in the city once the British leave and that the Baghdad government should send reinforcements:
"Some disorder will occur in the absence of British troops in Basra. It will take at least two army divisions to fill the gap that will be created by British troop withdrawal."
Elsewhere, hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by helicopters and jet fighters killed 33 Sunni insurgents who were holding back the water supply to the Shiite town of Khalis, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. command said.
The assault began before dawn Monday when a joint force was landed by helicopter in the village of Gubbiya, 10 miles east of Khalis. The assault force killed 13 fighters and attack aircraft killed 20 others, the military said.
Also Tuesday, a roadside bomb exploded in northern Khalis, killing four Iraqi soldiers, the Iraqi army said.
In Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, mourners buried 11 victims of a mosque suicide bombing Monday. Ten people were wounded in the attack."
[What a bloody frikkin' mess, and that's only the "reported" stuff!!!]
