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| Iraq |
| Why was Americaâs favorite Iraqi cleric killed? |
| 2003-05-11 |
| SINCE SADDAMâS FALL, Muqtada al-Sadr has become one of the most strident anti-American voices in Iraq. His ties to a powerful Iran-based Iraqi cleric who has called for a violent campaign against U.S. forces have raised concerns of radicalization among Iraqi Shiites. Al-Sadr denies any relation to the cleric in Iran. âHe is not a friend,â al-Sadr insists. Still, al-Sadr makes no attempt to conceal his antipathy toward America. Asked if he was grateful to U.S. forces for ridding Iraq of Saddam, he shrugs. âWe are grateful to God,â he says. âEverything that happens is determined by God.â Some now say that al-Sadr considers himself Godâs agent of vengeance. In recent days the young cleric has emerged as the central figure in a dark tale of jealousy and murder that has caused other religious leaders in Najaf to barricade themselves behind locked doors. It is a story involving CIA operatives, a large stash of dollars hidden in clerical robes and a slaughter at one of the most sacred shrines of Shiite Islam. The principal victim, Abdel Majid al-Khoei, 41, was a Shiite leader and London-based Iraqi exile who had returned to Najaf under U.S. military protection. Al-Khoei was a key figure in U.S. efforts to nurture moderate leaders in post-Saddam Iraqâand a counterweight to radical clerics backed by Iran. At first, al-Khoeiâs murder seemed the spontaneous act of a mob incensed about his U.S. ties and his association with a Baathist clericâwho was killed alongside him. But evidence suggests the murder, which occurred at the doorway of al-Sadrâs headquarters, was part of a vicious power struggle that is likely to continue... As the group finished prayers and retired to the custodianâs guest quarters for tea, an angry mob armed with hand grenades, swords and assault rifles surrounded the building. âRaifee is back!â some shouted. âLong live Muqtada al-Sadr!â The mob smashed the windows; al-Khoei urged them to retreat. âThis is sacrilege,â he told them. âWe are all Shiites and you must respect the shrine.â An aide managed to get outside and call the U.S. commander in Najaf on a Thuraya satellite phone, but the officer said he had no orders to rescue them. Then members of the crowd sprayed the hall with AK-47 fire, fatally injuring a member of al-Khoeiâs entourage. Al-Khoei grabbed a gun that the night guards stored inside the building and fired at least one warning shot through the window, to no avail. A grenade sailed through the window and blew off three of al-Khoeiâs fingers; soon the mob entered the building, led by a man called Sheik Riyadh, the manager of al-Sadrâs office. âDonât say a word,â he warned. âYouâre all prisoners of Muqtada.â The assailants snatched Raifeeâs ceremonial fez off his head, seized al-Khoeiâs phones and a bag stuffed with cash, bound the hands of al-Khoei and Raifee with cotton strips and marched them through the eastern gate. According to a witness, members of the group later explained that al-Sadr had ordered them not to carry out the killings inside the shrine. Raifee was shot and hacked to death at the gate. Witnesses say al-Khoei broke free and fled up a muddy alley that led to al-Sadrâs headquarters. He banged on the locked door, calling for help, then sought refuge in a sewing-machine shop. Moments later, the mob set upon him with knives and bayonets. According to eyewitnesses, al-Khoei begged them to finish him off with bullets. The murder of al-Khoei sent a spasm of fear coursing through Najaf. Grand Ayatollah Sistani locked himself in his house, protected by armed men. Last week the police arrested four suspects in the murders and identified them as followers of al-Sadr. In the interview with NEWSWEEK, al-Sadr insisted that the killers were ânot my supportersâ and said he had tried to save al-Khoei as he sought refuge in his home. âI sent five people to drive the murderers away, but they were beaten,â he said. âI wanted to come out myself, but I was afraid.â He glared at a reporter who pressed him about the killings. âWhy do you want to discuss this?â he demanded. Asked how he had felt about al-Khoeiâs return from exile, he shrugged dismissively: âHeâs gone. Why talk about him?â Later that morning al-Sadr returned triumphantly to the Kufa Mosque on the west bank of the Euphrates to deliver his fourth speech since the fall of Saddam. Thousands packed the mosqueâs courtyard in 100-degree heat to hear the cleric call for banning the sale of alcohol in Iraq and forbidding women from wearing jewelry. âWe are ready. We are your followers,â the crowd roared. Many swarmed ecstatically around their new leader as he made his exit through a corridor leading from the niche marking the spot where Imam Ali was stabbed to death in the seventh century. Then al-Sadr climbed into a battered Toyota and, with his armed bodyguards, drove back to his headquarters in the shadow of the shrine. |
| Posted by:Anonymous |
| #3 Seems to me that,under the rules of International Military Occupation,Military Authorities have enough to arrest him for accessory to murder. |
| Posted by: w_r_manues@yahoo.com 2003-05-12 07:31:17 |
| #2 Reading all this stuff about al-Sadr and his ilk makes me realize the magnitude of the task of reconstruction in Iraq. The big task is rearranging melons. Some physically, some psychologically. We have to break this cycle of highly emotionally charged fanatacism. These folks are going to have to bottom out before they will start realizing that this drivel that their imams, muftis, ayahtollahs, and fellow smurfs is just something to control them and keep a few at the reins of power. Knocking out Sammy is the first step. That set them back shortly, but other things will have to be done or guys like al-Sadr will keep coming out of the woodwork like flies. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-05-11 14:16:02 |
| #1 It's apparent that the Iranian influence needs to be cut off at the cojones. They'd have less time and resources to corrupt Iraq if they were forced to concentrate more on keeping their power at home. In the meantime, we have all that CIA cash and assets that needs to be spent on making Iraq safe, why is a punk like Al-Sadr alive? Reading the story, he comes off as a minor-league |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-11 10:02:17 |