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POPS"Democratic Iraq" promoting Islamic deathsquads against gays Reporter Peter Tatchell- Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant. I campaigned against his blood-stained misrule for nearly 30 years. But while Saddam was president, there was certainly no danger of gay people being assassinated in their homes and in the street by religious fanatics. Since his overthrow, the violent persecution of lesbians and gays is much worse. Even children suspected of being gay are abducted and later found shot in the head.
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POPSWhittling Away At Shia Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
(continued) Al-Qaida in Iraq tried to ignite a sectarian war -- its now-dead emir, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, made that goal explicit in February 2004. Al-Qaida massacred en masse, to the point that U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D for Defeatist) declared the war in Iraq lost. Then, the Sunni tribes in Anbar turned on al-Qaida. Sunni political integration is by no means complete, but al-Qaida has failed. In August 2004, Sadr's thugs grabbed the Grand Mosque in Najaf. Sadr was counting on Americans to bomb the mosque. The United States opted to follow the political lead of Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Sistani's aides told coalition officers: "Let us deal with Sadr. We know how to handle him and will do so. However, the coalition must not make him a martyr." Think of the Iraqi anti-Sadr method as a form of suffocation, a political war waged with the blessing of Ayatollah Sistani that requires daily economic and political action, persistent police efforts and occasional military thrusts.
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POPSal-Sadr ... Negotiating from Iran Sadr continues to play the political/religious card to his advantage... Forcing the government to deal with his (illegal) organization/militias will simply empower him in the eyes of the populace
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POPSal-Sistani throws in the towel Crooks and Liars has a videoclip of journalist David Ignatius saying back in July that if al-Sistani gives up, then "this effort is over"--presumably he means the US's efforts to create a functional government and avert civil war.
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POPSA Positive Fatwa I have heard on any number of occasions disappointment that no one in the higher-ups of the Muslim community have come out against violience. This Canadian cleric appears to have the right idea, although the word Fatwa is not one of my favourites.
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