The Sunnis bomb the Imam Hussein Mosque.
The early reports of the bombing near the Shia Imam Hussein mosque in Karbala identify at least 40 killed and 80 wounded. This is one of the most sacred sites of the Shia.
This will put more pressure on the government, and apply even more pressure for the militias to return to the streets. This will be a real test.
There's no word yet how close to the mosque the bombing was or the level of damage.
(Note: Just to give you an idea of the significance of the target, this mosque has been unsuccessfully targeted several times, most recently two weeks ago.)
Later: It's now up to 55 dead.
Also in Iraq, the US captured elements of a suspected smuggling ring accused of smuggling weapons and EFP parts from Iran.
And, (NYTimes) "inspectors for a federal oversight agency have found that in a sampling of eight (reconstruction) projects that the United States had declared successes, seven were no longer operating as designed."
This will put more pressure on the government, and apply even more pressure for the militias to return to the streets. This will be a real test.
An angry crowd gathered near the site of Saturday's explosion, many of them searching frantically for missing relatives. Some threw stones at the police, accusing them of failing to protect the people.
There's no word yet how close to the mosque the bombing was or the level of damage.
(Note: Just to give you an idea of the significance of the target, this mosque has been unsuccessfully targeted several times, most recently two weeks ago.)
Later: It's now up to 55 dead.
Saturday's explosion occurred a few hundred meters yards from the Imam Abbas shrine, setting several cars on fire and causing chaos. The explosion took place as the streets were filled with people heading for evening prayers at the Abbas shrine and the adjacent Imam Hussein shrine, two of Iraq's holiest Shiite sites.
Also in Iraq, the US captured elements of a suspected smuggling ring accused of smuggling weapons and EFP parts from Iran.
And, (NYTimes) "inspectors for a federal oversight agency have found that in a sampling of eight (reconstruction) projects that the United States had declared successes, seven were no longer operating as designed."
posted by mikevotes at
11:31 AM
4 Comments:
Bush wanted a Crusade; a 21 century holy war. He just never expected it would be between two sects of Islam... Then again he probably didn't know there were divisions within Islam. "Hell, they all look the same to me."
Indeed, Trent Lott made a similar nonplussed statement regarding his befuddlement as to why Muslims were so angry with each other. This, in part, may be why the neo-cons just can't get their heads around the notion of Iraq in civil war; they can't tell one side from the tother.
By
-epm, at 3:34 PM
As broader point, maybe I'm naive, but to me the religion is more the motivation than the true dispute.
The religion definitely marks two distinct groups within the Muslim world, but I think it's the relative power arrangements between the groups that is the source of the conflict.
It's about discrimination and dominance not about some doctrinal dispute. Even these attacks on holy symbols are mainly intended as political not doctrinal actions.
I think what I'm saying is that what we're seeing is a regional power struggle along religious lines rather than a religious struggle.
I don't know why this came out, but that's what's in my head.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 3:45 PM
I think you're right. It's the Norther Ireland of the Middle East, isn't it.
And then again, the Crusades of the Middle Ages were more about conquest than religion too, weren't they.
By
-epm, at 4:32 PM
Right.
I think religion serves as divisive identity and justification, but it is not the core of the conflict.
By
mikevotes, at 5:58 PM
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