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| Iraq |
| "Will the terrorists be allowed to steal the country . . . ?" |
| 2006-02-27 |
| by Jay Nordlinger, National Review. EFL & emphasis added. President Bush had exactly the right words for the blowing up of the Golden Mosque: an "evil act." You could hardly have done anything worse in Iraq. This is taking a match to a tinderbox. The terrorists are sowing hatred, distrust, and, of course, violence. The terrorists obviously want a civil war. Will Iraqis give it to them? I hope not, and I think not. I noticed some glee last week, when the country was aflame. (I'm talking about some glee in America.) There are principled critics of the war; then there are those who want it to fail simply because they want it to blow up in George Bush's face, and Tony Blair's, and others'. I also noticed some loose talk, as in "the Sunnis blew up the mosque." No, "the Sunnis" didn't. Some Sunnis did. They probably weren't even Iraqi. Hajim Alhasani, the president of the Iraqi National Assembly, didn't blow up that mosque. Neither did millions of other Sunnis. The problem in Iraq — as in other situations around the world — is that a few thousand can control the news, control the atmosphere, in a sense control the country. But when something like this happens, we shouldn't forget the millions who want to live decently — the millions we saw braving dangers to go to the polls last year. Three times. Will the terrorists be allowed to steal the country from these millions? I wish to quote one Abdul-Salam al-Kubaisi, spokesman for the Sunni Clerical Association of Muslim Scholars. He was furious at Shiite leaders for urging demonstrations against the Golden Mosque attack. He said — according to wire services — "They are all fully aware that the Iraqi borders are open, and the streets are penetrated with those who want to create strife among Iraqis." Exactly so. There are cool heads in Iraq — Iraqi ones — and we must fervently hope that they will prevail. Years ago, I used to read about sectarian violence in India — Muslims killed Hindus, by the hundreds, etc., etc., etc. I didn't see how India could survive, as a country. It seemed too unnatural a country: all those religions, all those ethnicities, all those languages. Two Gandhis were assassinated by ethnic extremists. Today, India is acknowledged as maybe the great juggernaut of the world. No one questions its legitimacy as a country, or its staying-power. And for years, I would ask Indians whether they felt Indian — or Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, or whatever. Not a single one ever answered anything other than "Indian." Some seemed affronted by the question. About Iraq: We'll see. |
| Posted by:Saddam Hussein |
| #3 Ahmadenijad (spelling?) of Iran blamed it on the Americans and the Zionists right away. We've an article here, somewhere, quoting his latest rantings. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-02-27 20:37 |
| #2 Didn't Sacranie do that in London? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-02-27 14:33 |
| #1 How come nobody has blaimed it on "Zionists", yet? |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-02-27 13:05 |