Posted on 08/26/2005 8:51:31 AM PDT by oldfarmer
BAGHDAD, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A hundred thousand Iraqis across the country marched on Friday in support of a maverick Shi'ite cleric opposed to a draft constitution that U.S.-backed government leaders say will deliver a brighter future.
The protest could reinforce the opposition of Sunni Arabs who dominate the insurgency and are bitterly against the draft.
Supporters of young Shi'ite firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr, who has staged two uprisings against U.S. troops, also protested against poor services during their marches, stepping up the pressure on the government.
A hundred thousand Sadr supporters marched in eight cities, including 30,000 people who gathered for a sermon delivered on his behalf in a Baghdad slum district.
They hardly noticed a huge government poster which read "One Nation, One People, One Constitution", instead seeking guidance from Sadr who inspires fierce devotion in his followers.
Sadr returned to centre stage this week after his fighters fought a rival Shi'ite militia, the Badr organisation, raising fears of a new front in Iraq's relentless cycle of violence.
He is stirring hopes among his vast following at a time when Iraq's divided politicians have missed a series of deadlines for reaching a consensus on the constitution, which is expected to be put to a referendum in October.
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
1. I thought the Shiites supported the constitution, while the Sunnis opposed it?
2. More and more I am coming across this phrase: "Sunni Arabs who dominate the insurgency." Why has the MSM switched from blaming foreign fighters to blaming the Sunnis?
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.
The Shiites, who are underrepresented in Parliament due to their boycotting the January elections, are just pissed because they tried to fight a new political battle the old way... and lost big-time.
This is the same group who believes Saddam Hussein should be returned to power. I say, throw them out of the government on their asses. The people have spoken... they want no part of that kind of horseShiite in the new government.
You know the world is in the midst of on helluva economic expansion and yet these people can show up in the hundreds of thousands at the drop of a hat. Bunch of lazy azzed dreamers. It's the culture or poetry and platitudes (not) at work. Why do we bother?
I have a hard time believing that Sadr got a 100,000 people on the street in support of him.
err Sunnis boycotted, not Shias.
Sorry... Replace "Shiites" with "Sunnis". That's what I get for trying to talk on the phone and post at the same time!
"a maverick Shi'ite cleric"
Yawn.
He's a TERRORIST, not a "maverick", FFS!
"He is stirring hopes among his vast following...." WTF kind of "reporting" is this? This is a statement of fact, not backed up by anything. Do you think the al-Reuters reporter actually spoke with any of Sadr's followers? And by whose measurement is Sadr's following "vast? Grand Ayatollah Sistani might disagree slightly with this characterization!
Oh, it's Reuters.
I see now that it took a person like Saddam Hussein to control Iraq.../s
Sunnis boycotted the election, then cried and set off some bombs when they didn't like the result. I mentioned in an earlier post that the Sunnis are trying to fight a new (political) battle the old way; they still think that violence from a few speaks for the masses, and will trump the majority.
Kinda like the liberals. And, like the liberals, they've gotten a small percentage of the country to make loud noises, but it's all boo-hooing and empty rhetoric.
You've got it backwards, it's the Sunnis that boycotted.
And it's the Shia that are the largest party in the
"congress". BUT TThe Sunnis don't want a federated
Iraq. they want a 'one state' Iraq.
Now the Shia in the soth, have factions. One of
those factions wants the federated Iraq..these
are the ones with close ties to the Iranian Mullahs
and want to impose Sharia...then there are other Shia
who want religious freedom, but do not want to be
dominated by the "Iranan Taliban".
Sadr, for whatever reasons, is against a federated Iraq.
Trouble he has been, but this could be national pride
asserting itself against the Iranian Assasin Mullah
worshipers that want to turn Iraq into another Iran.
If that's all that confuses you about Iraq, consider yourself lucky.
This article contributes to your confusion. The Shi'ite firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr is a rogue Shia Iraqi cleric who has no support from any other Iraqi clerics. His base of popular support is in the Sadr city slum in Baghdad and the base of his financial support is in Iran. The Iranians have been using him to try to create military hostilities between Shia and Sunni Iraqis, and as their agent provocuteur against Shia leaders in Iraq that Iran is opposed to.
However, nothing of his support can be considered "vast", but saying so makes divisions among most of the Shia to be bigger than they are.
Most of the Iraqi insurgents are Sunni and most of the Iraqi aid given to Al Queda comes from Iraqi Sunnis. Sadaam was a Sunni and he place mostly Sunnis in important positions in the government, the military, the police, the terror squads and the intelligence apparatus. Therefore it was mostly Sunni's that excercised the oppressive power of Sadaam's regime, over the majority Shia and the Kurds. Those Sunnis who had the power under Sadaam, and their families, friends and associates, lost the most with Sadaam's defeat. Some of them hope that with Al Queda's help they can convince the American public to leave before the majority Shia and the Kurds establish a new military under a democratic government. So, given that few Kurds or Shia are active with the insurgency, it is often referred to as a Sunni insurgency. As time goes on, that referrence becomes more and more accurate. At some point the Sunnis will either accept the democratic aims of the Shia and the Kurds, or lose what sanctuary they have left in Iraq after military defeat in a civil war they will try to instigate with the Shia. I think the longer the insurgency goes on, the more regular Sunni population will move towards accomadation with the Shia - becuase Sunni Iraqis are the largest segment of victims of the insurgent's activity.
See post #6.
This thread's gotta make you proud, Jim.
I heard some of Sadr's boys,the Mehdi Army, and Badr brigades boys got into a little AK-47 and RPG fight yesterday in Basra.
So much for Shi'ite unity.....
Oh, you mean they acted like Democrats and then whined when it back-fired on them?
yup... that, and the dims are of the same unbalanced mindset. That's exactly what I mean.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.