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Politics : Hanoi john Should Be Court Martialed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (657)	4/7/2004 8:55:05 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 681

Nothing worthwhile comes easy... GZ

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (657)	4/7/2004 9:42:07 AM
From: PROLIFE	Respond to of 681

Terrorists for Kerry Comittee formed in Iraq by JAMES TARANTO The Shiite Hits the Fan Tough battles are under way in Iraq--against Sunni savages in Fallujah and radical Shiites in Baghdad. "Including casualties Monday and Tuesday, at least 18 American Marines and soldiers and 99 Iraqis have been killed since Sunday," the Associated Press reports. "In the same period, a Salvadoran soldier and one from Ukraine also were killed." (El Salvador and Ukraine are part of what John Kerry calls the "fraudulent coalition.") Fugitive Shiite rabble-rouser Muqtada al-Sadr had been holed up in a Muslim shrine in Kufa, but the AP reports he's now moved to Najaf. Sadr at least has more class than Palestinian terrorists, who hole up in the shrines of other religions and in hospitals. CNN reports Sadrites "controlled government, religious and security buildings in the holy city of Najaf early Tuesday evening, according to a coalition source in southern Iraq": The source said al-Sadr's followers controlled the governor's office, police stations and the Imam Ali mosque, one of Shia Muslim's holiest shrines. Iraqi police were negotiating to regain their stations, the source said. The source also said al-Sadr was busing followers into Najaf from Sadr City in Baghdad and that many members of his outlawed militia, Mehdi's Army, were from surrounding provinces. There are advantages to having them all in one place. So what does this all mean? "Take a deep breath," counsels Amir Taheri: "This is not the start of the much-predicted Iraqi civil war." He offers some background on Sadr: Sadr hails from one of the seven clans who have led Iraq's Shiite community for two centuries. He was propelled to the top of the clan's pyramid when most of its senior members, including his father and uncle, were murdered by Saddam Hussein or driven into exile. But Muqtada is too young to claim the coveted theological title of "Marjaa al-Taqlid" (Source of Emulation) for himself. Nor can he circumvent the two dozen or so senior ayatollahs who dominate the Shiite seminaries throughout Iraq. He is, therefore, trying to make up for his lack of theological gravitas by flexing his political muscles. "Sadr lacks the strength to disrupt plans for the handover of power to an interim government," Taheri argues, "but he may produce headlines that neither President Bush nor Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to see": As one Hassan Nasrallah, a Sadr relative and leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, succinctly put it: "We may be unable to drive the Americans out of Iraq. But we can drive George W. Bush out of the White House." Hey, another foreign leader for Kerry! opinionjournal.com