Shiite Leader Says US Occupation Unacceptable
Anthony Shadid of Washington Post reports (24 April)
Abdul Aziz Hakim, an influential Shiite leader, said U.S. occupation was unacceptable and urged U.S. officials to turn over administration of Iraq to "a national and independent government."
"The American presence is unacceptable and there's no justification for it staying in Iraq," said Hakim, the deputy leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and a brother of its Tehran-based leader, Ayatollah Mohammed Bakir Hakim.
It is another worrying sign among Iraq's 60 percent Shiite majority over U.S. intentions. It had also led some U.S. officials to voice concern that the Islamic government in neighboring Iran, with a predominantly Shiite population, may intefere in Iraq.
Today marked the end of the traditional 40-day mourning period that follows the anniversary of the death of imam Hussein, the prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed in a battle in Karbala in 680. Tens of thousands marched today under green, black and red banners. As with Shiite movements in revolutionary Iran in the 1970s and Lebanon in the 1980s, they tapped religious symbolism to frame an overtly political message.
"No to imperialism, no to Israel, no to America, no to Saddam," one slogan went. "Yes to Islam," another said."We want them out," said Ali Abdel-Hussein, 23. "We know America, we know how it deals with the rest of the world."
U.S. officials have acknowledged being caught off guard by the authority the Shiite clergy have commanded in Iraq.
YOUR VIEWS ?
Send This Post to a Friend ->
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Go to Latest Posting