Sects and violence in Iraq
AP via Washington Times:
One of the unusual aspects of the mosque bombing was that no one was killed. That is not the usual trademark of an al Qaeda operation, although they continue to be the main suspect. I would also be suspicious of Iran being behind the blast as a diversion for their nuke program. While Iran is run by Shias, some of the current leadership is a believer in the second coming cult that might think such an attack will speed their wished for event.
The Iranian President has made the ludicous suggestion that Israel was behind the bombing, but if the Israelis were going to travel that far to bomb something there are many more worthwhile targets in Iran, such as their nuke facilities. Also if the Israels were going to bomb a mosque, I would think their first target would be the one built over the old Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
One of the quickest ways to defuse the situation and turn a crisis into an opportunity is to get those guys who did the bombing to talk and find out who ordered the attack. That is an urgent goal, and the Iraqis who arrested them are probably not constrained by Sen. McCain's views on the merits of water boarding.
Gunmen killed dozens of civilians yesterday and dumped their bodies in a ditch, as the government ordered a tough daytime curfew of Baghdad and three provinces to stem the sectarian violence that has left at least 114 dead since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine.That is a pretty cheap demand to meet, which has to be a shred of good news. Earlier reports indicated that 10 had been arrested for bombing the mosque that started the latest violence. Hopefully, they are being questioned to find out who was behind the blast.
Seven U.S. soldiers died in a pair of roadside bombings north of the capital, and U.S. military units in the Baghdad area were told to halt all but essential travel to avoid getting caught up in demonstrations or roadblocks.
As the country careened to the brink of civil war, Iraqi state television announced an unusual daytime curfew, ordering people off the streets today in Baghdad and the nearby flash-point provinces of Diyala, Babil and Salaheddin, where the shrine bombing took place.
Such a sweeping daytime curfew indicated the depth of fear within the government that the crisis could touch off a Sunni-Shi'ite civil war.
"This is the first time that I have heard politicians say they are worried about the outbreak of civil war," said Kurdish elder statesman Mahmoud Othman.
The biggest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament announced that it was pulling out of talks on a new government until the national leadership apologizes for damage to Sunni mosques from reprisal attacks.
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One of the unusual aspects of the mosque bombing was that no one was killed. That is not the usual trademark of an al Qaeda operation, although they continue to be the main suspect. I would also be suspicious of Iran being behind the blast as a diversion for their nuke program. While Iran is run by Shias, some of the current leadership is a believer in the second coming cult that might think such an attack will speed their wished for event.
The Iranian President has made the ludicous suggestion that Israel was behind the bombing, but if the Israelis were going to travel that far to bomb something there are many more worthwhile targets in Iran, such as their nuke facilities. Also if the Israels were going to bomb a mosque, I would think their first target would be the one built over the old Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
One of the quickest ways to defuse the situation and turn a crisis into an opportunity is to get those guys who did the bombing to talk and find out who ordered the attack. That is an urgent goal, and the Iraqis who arrested them are probably not constrained by Sen. McCain's views on the merits of water boarding.
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