Posted on 08/09/2005 7:44:59 PM PDT by Crackingham
Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. The deposed mayor, Alaa al-Tamimi, who was not in his offices at the time, recounted the events in a telephone interview on Tuesday and called the move a municipal coup d'état. He added that he had gone into hiding for fear of his life.
"This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, a secular engineer with no party affiliation. "They use force to achieve their goal."
The group that ousted him insisted that it had the authority to assume control of Iraq's capital city and that Mr. Tamimi was in no danger. The man the group installed, Hussein al-Tahaan, is a member of the Badr Organization, the armed militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri.
The militia has been credited with keeping the peace in heavily Shiite areas in southern Iraq but also accused of abuses like forcing women to wear the veils demanded by conservative Shiite religious law.
"If we wanted to do something bad to him, we would have done that," said Mazen A. Makkia, the elected city council chief who led the ouster on Monday and who had been in a lengthy and unresolved legal feud with Mr. Tamimi.
"We really want to establish the state of law for every citizen, and we did not threaten anyone," Mr. Makkia said. "This is not a coup."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
this might become interesting.
Good point.
Your bet is on, and probably right. I recall former President Clinton with Charlie Rose, averring that Iraq should have (tribal) quotas in re Government Positions.. and It sounds like this Shiite thought not enough Shiites were elected to positions of "power"; and decided Bagdad was almost big enough for his "chair".
"Baghdad provincial council can replace him because he was appointed by Baghdad's council."
Saddam fell in 2003. Since that time corruption and lack of security have continued to plague both the coalition and the Iraqis.
That is how you win this war and establish an Iraq that works.
Yep, the Busheviks are fully in control of the situation. Uh-huh.
I agree. We need to have a secular Sunni strongman in charge. One who allows Christian and even Jewish worship and keeps the hammer down on the Shi'ite theocrats.
This was in the AZ Republic.
"This was in the AZ Republic."
Roger that. Thanks.
LOL! I hear there's a dude available. Could start immediately too. Experienced, no OTJ training required.
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