Attempts to inflame the Kurds may eventually succeed.. The Associated Press reports that two Sunni clerics opposed to elections called by the interim government have been gunned down.So the MSM is so stupid that they don't notice the possibility that their longed-for civil war may be starting? They can't even figure out when to launch into the BIG LIE properly.Sheik Ghalib Ali al-Zuhairi was a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni clerics group that has called for a boycott of nationwide elections scheduled for Jan. 30. He was shot as he was leaving a mosque in the town of Muqdadiyah and died in the local hospital, said police Col. Raisan Hussein. Muqdadiyah is about 60 miles north of Baghdad. A day earlier, unknown gunmen assassinated anotherprominent Sunni cleric in the northern city of Mosul Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, who was the brother of the group's spokesman. It as unclear whether the two attacks were related.The former Ba'athists may still have plenty of money, weapons and explosives. But they have plenty of enemies too.
Brother.
Which reminds me. Good old corrupt, partisan Dan Rather finally gave up the forgery racket today. Of course, he still won't admit that the memos are F-O-R-G-E-D -- not that he'd consult with one of the inventors of computer typography to learn any inconvenient facts. I'm sure Mary Mapes thinks that David Hailey will redeem them.
Did I mention that the investigation -- which has not to date contacted either Charles Johnson or Powerline(!) -- is almost certain to be a whitewash revealed on a Friday?
UPDATE: Now why was it that you don't read Stratgy Page again?
November 25, 2004: Over a thousand tons of weapons and munitions have been found in Fallujah. American and Iraqi troops will spend the next several weeks searching some 50,000 buildings and apartments in the city. Although some 1,450 men were arrested during the fighting in Fallujah, 400 have been released. About 60 foreigners were arrested in Fallujah. Dozens have been picked up in other parts of the country, and some may have already been killed while trying to make attacks elsewhere. Today, five more (two Egyptians and three Libyans) were arrested in Basra. They admitted they had come south to get away from the fighting in Fallujah, and to make more attacks, with less risk. All of the fighters possess a blind hatred of the West and a desire to spread their brand of Islam (Sunni) throughout the world. This, alas, includes punishing Moslem heretics like the Shia, who comprise the majority of Iraqis (and Iranians).Could it be that the MSM has superior skills? Yeah. Right.
November 24, 2004: A force of 5,000 American, British and Iraqi troops began moving through Sunni Arab towns south of Baghdad. More raids in Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad were being prepared as well. The raids are going after known hostiles and safe houses. Hundreds of men have been arrested, and many tons of arms have been collected.
In the last week, two members of the Sunni Arab Association of Muslim Scholars have been assassinated. The Association has taken the lead in preaching resistance to the new government, elections and any Shia control of the government. This has caused much anger among the Shia majority. While many Shia have expressed this anger by joining the police or army, others have formed death squads, and gone after notorious murderers and hate mongers in the Sunni Arab community. This includes many Sunni Arab preachers. Shia Arabs and Kurds have thousands of names of Sunni Arabs who personally took part in supporting Saddams decades of repression. Nearly all of these Sunni Arabs have fled to the traditionally Sunni areas in, around, and to the west of, Baghdad. But Shia death squads have been going in and killing the murderers and preachers of hate. There are plenty of recent murders and atrocities to motivate these killers. Sunni Arab gangs have taken to setting up roadblocks and stopping Shia Arab or Kurd drivers, and torturing or killing them. The Shia get the most attention, because Sunni Arab clerics preach that Shia are heretics and blasphemers. This is a common attitude among Sunni Arabs, but usually does not result in violence. An exception is the Wahabi form of Sunni Islam. The Wahabi strain is popular in Saudi Arabia, and among al Qaeda members, and has become common among Iraqi Sunni Arabs as well. It's not just revenge minded Shia Arabs who are on to the central role of Sunni Arab clerics; the government has also started to arrest those who are most prominent in preaching hatred against Shia Arabs, and against anyone who denies Sunni Arab domination. The discovery of so many mosques in Fallujah being used as combat headquarters, and full of anti-Shia propaganda, has made it easier to go after the Sunni Arab clergy. The discovery of twenty "torture chambers" in Fallujah horrified many Iraqis, who were already angry at Sunni Arab thugs. Seeing the pictures of the blood splattered rooms where Iraqi and foreign kidnap victims were tortured and killed has made it pretty obvious what kind of people Iraqis are fighting against.
The UN, Arab nations and Iran continue to complain of "excessive force" in fighting against the Sunni Arabs. But to most Iraqis, too much restraint is being used. It all depends on whether you did business with Saddam, or had a friend tortured and killed by him.
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