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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (144135)	8/26/2004 2:26:32 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

<Fundamentalism cannot last as a strong feature of Islamic society, but must be overtaken by modernizing tendencies in Islam, that permit adaptation of Quranic interpretation and the blending of traditional and modern values and customs.> With the rising tide of Christian fundamentalism undermining the modernizing tendencies of American society, I wonder why you assume that Islamic fundamentalism cannot endure. Should we also assume that Christian fundamentalism will be swept aside because it stands in the way of modern values?

To: Neocon who wrote (144135)	8/26/2004 2:44:58 PM
From: GST	Respond to of 281500

Common ground? Isn't it just easier to shoot them? <74 killed as Iraq's Sistani tries to 'save' Najaf 2 hours, 39 minutes ago NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - A total of 74 people were killed and more than 350 others wounded in a mortar attack on Kufa's main mosque and a shooting at a demonstration, as Iraq (news - web sites)'s Shiite spiritual leader entered Najaf on a mission to "save" the battered holy city. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's arrival in Najaf with thousands of supporters in his wake triggered a 24-hour ceasefire in the city where talks began with representatives of rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr. But hopes raised by his arrival were dimmed by violent incidents in Najaf's twin city of Kufa which killed 74 people, according to officials, and more attacks on pipelines in southern Iraq. "The Najaf hospital received 39 bodies and 255 wounded and the one in Kufa 25 bodies and 60 wounded," a health ministry official said. The bodies of another eight people killed in the demonstration and 42 wounded people were transported to Diwaniya, about 50 kilometres (about 30 miles) east of Najaf. Two other bodies and 19 wounded were taken to a hospital in Hilla, about 60 kilometres (more than 35 miles) north of Najaf. "We cannot distinguish between those who died in the bombing of the Kufa mosque and those who were killed in the demonstration," he said. Meanwhile a large crowd of people took advantage of the ceasefire suspending three weeks of fighting between Sadr's Mehdi Army and US and Iraqi government troops to force their way into the Imam Ali mausoleum, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, which has been held by the militia for four months. Sistani, treated to a euphoric welcome since returning from medical treatment in London on Wednesday, has signalled that he wants all armed groups to disarm in Najaf and Kufa and all foreign troops to leave. Talks between Sistani and Sadr's camps started almost immediately, said a spokesman for the ayatollah, but it was not clear if the two leaders themselves had met face-to-face as officials said they had 24 hours to find a solution. "We have started contacts with Moqtada Sadr and in the coming hours we are waiting, hoping that we will succeed in saving the city from destruction," said Ahmed al-Khaffaf. "Once again I'm calling upon people wanting to enter Najaf to stay where you are if possible," Khaffaf added. Earlier a statement from interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said: "I have ordered all military operations to stop for 24 hours in the holy Najaf, starting from 3:00 pm today (1100 GMT) in accordance with the arrival of his holiness." "This is our last call for peace and this is the last chance to put an end to the innocent bloodshed," he added, vowing to ensure a "safe passage" for Sadr if he disarmed and quit his stronghold in the mausoleum. Najaf governor Adnan al-Zorfi, who has championed the use of US troops in Najaf, said American and Iraqi government soldiers would stick to their positions during the truce. But he warned: "If there is no agreement after 24 hours, the fighting will resume." In Kufa, doctors struggled to cope with the enormous casualties. Pain-wracked and bloodied patients, mostly men, were stretched out in the corridors and garden of the town's Middle Euphrates hospital despite the intense heat. "There were hundreds of us. We came early this morning to the mosque. We were waiting for Sistani, inside and outside. Then at 8:00 am, two mortars exploded, one near the outer gate and the other inside the compound," said Hani Hashim. Thousands of people chanting slogans in support of Sadr and denouncing Allawi were heading from Kufa for nearby Najaf when they came under fire from national guardsmen as they passed a military base, an AFP photographer said. Later national guards also fired on demonstrators from Diwaniya, 50 kilometres away, who tried to enter Najaf from the east. AFP's photographer saw bloodstains and shoes on the ground. Before the truce came into effect, US tanks and helicopters had pursued a fierce assault on militia pinned back to the immediate area of the Imam Ali shrine. A dozen bullet holes were visible in the golden dome of the mausoleum and some of its 7,777 golden tiles had come loose, said an AFP correspondent, one of three newsmen inside the building with several hundred Iraqis. Meanwhile, eight pipelines feeding two southern oilfields were sabotaged in an overnight explosion, dealing a new blow to the country's vital but beleaguered oil industry, officials said. They were part of a cluster of 20 pipelines at Al-Barjassiya, said an official at the oil ministry in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- news.yahoo.com