 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a major broker in Middle East politics, sparked Shiite fury across the region yesterday after suggesting that IraqÂ’s majority community was under the sway of Iran.
In an interview first aired Saturday by the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel, Mubarak warned that Iraq was in the midst of a civil war that threatened the Middle East. He also expressed alarm about Shiite Iran’s influence in Arab countries. “There are Shiites in all these countries (of the region), significant percentages, and Shiites are mostly always loyal to Iran and not the countries where they live,” he said.
| Kind of like Muslims in general, isn't it? You guys consider that a feature when it applies to us, a bug when it applies to you. |
Ibrahim Jaafari, Iraq’s incumbent premier and a devout Shiite, unequivocally condemned Mubarak’s remarks. “The comments have upset Iraqi people who come from different religious and ethnic backgrounds and have astonished and discontented the Iraqi government,” he told reporters yesterday.
| He's only stating a fact, like him or not. Iran owns and operates the al-Sadr mob, and they'd own and operate the Badr Brigades if the Hakim family would let them. The Hakims are merely more intelligent than Tater. |
As Jaafari spoke, he was flanked by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Adnan Al-Pachachi, a Sunni and the ParliamentÂ’s acting speaker.
| ... both of whom have to be polite for the sake of internal politix... |
JaafariÂ’s government has come under repeated accusations of collusion with Tehran from Sunni Arab factions in Iraq. Egypt had been one of the main driving forces behind an attempt at uniting Iraqi ranks by sponsoring a national reconciliation conference, still due to take place in the near future.
| But they're suspect because Egypt's a Sunni nation and their relations with Iran are none too warm... |
Expressing his anguish at Mubarak’s statements, Talabani said these “accusations against our Shiite brothers are baseless and we have asked our foreign minister to talk to Egypt about this.” In nearby Kuwait, whose population is one third Shiite, Shiite MPs and clerics lashed out at Egypt’s veteran leader. “We are not begging for certificates of loyalty to our countries from Mubarak or others. These are irresponsible statements ... and only serve to incite sectarian rifts,” MP Hassan Jowhar said. “Nothing can satisfy Shiites except a clear, official apology from President Mubarak.”
| Ummm... Does that mean they're going to riot and burn down the Egyptian embassy? |
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