The Returned Ayatollah Repeats: "Foreigners must leave Iraq"

The message from Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, since returning to Iraq from exile had been: Iraq's government should be an Islamic one, independent and free from all foreign interference.

Read here earlier posting on Ayatollah' al-Hakim's return trip from exile.

The message was given out by the 66-year-old leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq to tribal leaders and followers at Najaf, one of the holiest Shia cities.

At Nasiriyah , he told a crowd of 4,000 and later at Samawa to 60,000 people :

"We don’t fear these forces. This nation wants to preserve its independence and the coalition forces must leave this country.

We must never permit the presence of foreigners and we must not be their slaves. We must show that we can rule ourselves.”

The crowd responded “Yes! Yes for Islam! No Americans! No Saddam!”

Lieutenant-Colonel Ronnie McCourt, a British Army spokesman in Basra, said: “ If he starts to create agitation and stir up the crowds, he’s obviously going to be a concern. But we are restoring democracy here. We are hoping he takes a sensible course and acts moderately.”

Thousands turned up at the border crossing near Basra to witness the Ayatollah al-Hakim's return.

MEANWHILE, Washington is changing its Team-in-Charge for Iraq

Barbara Bodine, the US coordinator for central Iraq, was ordered back to Washington. Sacked for failing to restore law and order or basic public services in Baghdad. She is the second senior US official to be removed.

Retired general Jay Garner, head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Aid (Orha), who is supposed to be in Iraq for 3 months, will be replaced by Paul Bremer, a former US diplomat,as the new top administrator in charge of rebuilding Iraq . Garner had only been in Baghdad for three weeks. General Garner is said to leave in the next week or two after a transition with Mr. Bremer.

British John Sawyer, an ex-ambassador to Cairo and former Downing Street policy adviser, was dispatch by Britain to work with Mr Bremer.

Others in the US Team expected to leave soon include:

Margaret Tutwiler, who had been in charge of overall communications under General Garner;

Tim Carney, a former ambassador who had been overseeing Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals;

David Dunford, a senior Foreign Service specialist on the Middle East, and

John Limbert, the ambassador to Mauritania.

The overhaul of the US Team is to address the escalating violence and a breakdown of civil order which are paralyzing the rebuilding process. "Unless we do something in the near future, it is likely to blow up in our face," one official said.

Ewen MacAskill of The Guardian reports:

" There has been growing resentment among residents over the failure to restore order and basic services. The US, unaccountably, has been unable to stage any big public relations coup since the fall of Saddam to win over hearts and minds, such as a huge convoy bringing in desperately needed medical supplies. Most of the contractors appointed to carry out reconstruction work remain in Kuwait, saying Baghdad is too unsafe.

In Washington, the Pentagon and State Department are at loggerheads over the running of Iraq. Although Mr Bremer's appointment was hailed as a victory for the Powell's State Department, he shares a similar view of the Middle East as the Pentagon hawks, such as the deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz. "

  Go to Latest Posting

---

Comments 0

---