Posted on 12/18/2006 10:26:44 PM PST by BigFinn
MOSUL, Iraq: While talk of dividing Iraq along sectarian lines continues to be largely rejected in Baghdad and Washington, forces are already at work that could turn a part of the country into a Sunni-dominated, conservative Islamic enclave.
Some insurgents already envision this volatile city, about 200 miles north of Baghdad, as the capital of this new Islamic state in Iraq. Called the Islamic Emirate, insurgents believe they can hold sway and enforce their own laws over the provinces of Salahaddin, Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad and parts of Wasit and Babel.
To implement their agenda, the extremists have set up what they describe as a ministry of war which has issued leaflets and announced various campaigns, such as the one launched last month against public statues, which they claim are un-Islamic symbols of paganism.
To prove they intend to enforce their edicts, insurgents recently blew up a prominent public sculpture depicting a group of women carrying jars on their shoulders.
It was a bizarre twist on the insurgents’ usual tactics, which in recent months have included suicide attacks and planting roadside bombs against Iraqi and US troops. Other targets have included local police officers, translators and journalists. In response, local authorities have been forced to impose a curfew on the city.
Now the insurgents have apparently added statues, ranging from relatively modern works erected during the 1970s to more ancient pieces, to their list of targets.
Col. Ahmed al-Juburi, a spokesman for Mosul police, said he was dumbfounded by the bombing.
“Do these statues work with police? Were they translators for the Americans or members of the dissolved Baath Party?” he asked. “Those terrorists are a bunch of idiots.”
But others see the bombing as an attempt by the insurgents to affect all aspects of daily life in Mosul. A recent leaflet called upon owners of clothing shops to cover the heads of mannequins.
Many have complied, covering the heads of the mannequins with plastic bags.
Shopkeeper Mutaz Ahmed, 30, protested, “I don’t know where these groups came from. They want to take us back 1,400 years,” said Mutaz Ahmed, a local shopkeeper. “But if you want to stay alive, you have to obey their orders.”
The leaflets have prescribed in detail how to live in accordance with ultra-conservative Islamic principles. Some orders seem rather farfetched: one prohibited restaurants from preparing salads that contain cucumbers and tomatoes because one is male and the other female.
But people are taking them seriously. Khalaf Khalid, who runs a restaurant, has started to serve tomatoes and cucumbers in separate dishes.
“We obey them because they threatened to blow up the restaurant and kill us if we don’t,” he said. “They dictate even the way we eat. Tomorrow, they will even dictate how we sleep with our wives. It’s unbearable and the government should do something about Mosul.”
Even the city’s Christian minority is not spared the Islamists’ edicts. Women of all faiths have been compelled to wear long dresses and headscarves in public.
“It is going from bad to worse,” said Elizabeth Ramon, 30, a lawyer in Mosul. “All my relatives have left Iraq, and we will join them before we lose our lives at the hands of these extremists.”
Speaking from his prison cell, Mohammed Taha, one of 68 militants arrested in October for an attempt to overthrow the local government, said that the main aim of the insurgents was to expel US forces from Iraq, bringing down the current government in Baghdad and implement Sharia law.
While they may not succeed in achieving all their objectives, the insurgents have already managed to instill fear into many in this community.
Get rid of them. Now.
The fanatics should be told that they have the right to live that way themselves but it will be considered criminal for them to impose their beliefs on others. They should not be tolerated and need to be identified and then face justice for extortion and violence they commit.
Well, at least it would define the front lines and the territory to carpet bomb. Bombing the enemy into submission is a tried and true tactic of warfare. As soon as the extremists set this up we should drop our own leaflets: "Evacuate now, the bombing starts in 24 hours!"
Off Topic, but interesting...
ON THE NET...
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061218-121346-2567r.htm
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"Saudis report Shi'ite 'state' inside of Iraq"
By Sharon Behn
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
December 18, 2006
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Iran has effectively created a Shi'ite "state within a state" in neighboring Iraq, defying both Iraqi Sunnis and neighboring Sunni nations, according to a Saudi security report."
Exactly...I consider this good news.
insurgents recently blew up a prominent public sculpture depicting a group of women carrying jars on their shouldersBoy, Islam sure helps a person get his/her priorities straight. NOT!
Not "off topic" at all. This is what is occurring; Sunnis backed by our "good friends" the Saudis and Shias backed by the Iranians.
Neither sect wants anything but death for the "Infidel." Rarely has such an opportunity been presented to get our enemies fighting against each other. We should let them have at it. They'll be too busy to come here and do the terror that we won't do.
You have a good point.
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