[From the diaries by susanhu. This is a must-read, and it’s so great that Brenda caught Riverbend’s new post since she can only post irregularly. Thanks, Brenda, for bringing this to us so quickly.]
Come along as we read her words. I gather she is the best to hear this from anyhow.
Baghdad Burning
… I’ll meet you ’round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend…
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Tensions…
Things are not good in Baghdad.
There was an explosion this morning in a mosque in Samarra, a largely Sunni town. While the mosque is sacred to both Sunnis and Shia, it is considered one of the most important Shia visiting places in Iraq. Samarra is considered a sacred city by many Muslims and historians because it was made the capital of the Abassid Empire, after Baghdad, by the Abassid Caliph Al-Mu’tasim.
Continued below:
The name “Samarra” is actually derived from the phrase in Arabic “Sarre men ra’a” which translates to “A joy for all who see”. …
The mosque damaged with explosives today is the “Askari Mosque” which is important because it is believed to be the burial place of two of the 12 Shia Imams- Ali Al-Hadi and Hassan Al-Askari (father and son) who lived and died in Samarra. The site of the mosque is believed to be where Ali Al-Hadi and Hassan Al-Askari lived and were buried. Many Shia believe Al-Mahdi `al muntadhar’ will also be resurrected or will reappear from this mosque.
I remember visiting the mosque several years ago- before the war. We visited Samarra to have a look at the famous “Malwiya” tower and someone suggested we also visit the Askari mosque. …
We got there just as the sun was setting and I remember pausing outside the mosque to admire the golden dome and the intricate minarets. It was shimmering in the sunset and there seemed to be a million colors- orange, gold, white- it was almost glowing. The view was incredible and the environment was so peaceful and calm. There was none of the bustle and noise usually surrounding religious sites- we had come at a perfect time. The inside of the mosque didn’t disappoint either …
We woke up this morning to news that men wearing Iraqi security uniforms walked in and detonated explosives, damaging the mosque almost beyond repair. It’s heart-breaking and terrifying. There has been gunfire all over Baghdad since morning. The streets near our neighborhood were eerily empty and calm but there was a tension that had us all sitting on edge. We heard about problems in areas like Baladiyat where there was some rioting and vandalism, etc. and several mosques in Baghdad were attacked. I think what has everyone most disturbed is the fact that the reaction was so swift, like it was just waiting to happen.
All morning we’ve been hearing/watching both Shia and Sunni religious figures speak out against the explosions and emphasise that this is what is wanted by the enemies of Iraq- this is what they would like to achieve- divide and conquer. Extreme Shia are blaming extreme Sunnis and Iraq seems to be falling apart at the seams under foreign occupiers and local fanatics.
No one went to work today as the streets were mostly closed. … I don’t think I remember things being this tense … here’s so much talk of civil war and yet, with the people I know- Sunnis and Shia alike- I can hardly believe it is a possibility. Educated, sophisticated Iraqis are horrified with the idea of turning against each other, and even not-so-educated Iraqis seem very aware that this is a small part of a bigger, more ominous plan…
Several mosques have been taken over by the Mahdi militia and the Badir people seem to be everywhere. Tomorrow no one is going to work or college or anywhere.
… Read all of today’s post at Riverbend’s blog.
[Edited to comply with copyright restrictions – susanhu.]
Even as someone who’s not religious, I find it incredibly sad that something so beautiful could be destroyed … like the Buddha sculptures in the mountains of Afghanistan.
And it’s tragic that now so many more mosques are being destroyed.
I hope the religious leaders can — as Martin Luther King had to do so many times — speak out for peace and calm.
this sounds very serious. It’s frightening how easy it is to stir up trouble there and how hard it is to get anyone here to give a shit about anything.
Wolf was on it. He and Jack talked about how this can foment sectarian war.
I have been sitting here and staring at the blank page. Trying to imagine what words to write. The loss of history, the loss of religious history, is sad, but the lives, lives lost, and lives lived with the awarness that each hour moves them closer to yet more chaos, is beyond words. We as a civilization should be beyond war as well.
Barry Welsh Indiana 6th District Democratic Congressional Candidate
I think what has everyone most disturbed is the fact that the reaction was so swift, like it was just waiting to happen.
even not-so-educated Iraqis seem very aware that this is a small part of a bigger, more ominous plan…
Anyone know/guess what she’s referring to with these statements?
I may be wearing a tin hat with my theory but I think there was an ominious force here doing things that no one would have even thought possible. Anyone from any tribe/sect. It is like the ones who did this to the shrine was letting some ppl know what they were going to do then let the dogs out afterwards.
Several Sunni mosques in different parts of the country were hit within a couple of hours of the bombing in Samarra. This shows the militias are just hanging around waiting for the phone to ring. And they are ready to go and attack mosques.
The men who did the bombing were suppose to be wearing the police uniform. That just about says it all, to me.
Who would profit from an all-out war between the Sunnis and Shias in Iraq?
……………
The Persians? It seems inconceivable that the clerics who rule Iran would bomb Shia mosques. But do they have a Machiavellian wing?
The Saudis? Inconceivable.
The Jordanians? Nope.
The Syrians? Seems inconceivable, they’re so outnumbered.
The Turks? I imagine some spook tale scenarios involving control of Kirkuk. But it seems inconceivable.
Al Qaeda? Obvious culprit. Chaos creates hellhole for Americans, etc. But I don’t think this makes sense.
The Americans? Improbable, but not inconceivable.
The Chinese and the Russians? Now we’re cooking with gas.
The Chinese and the Russians kick the Americans out of the Middle East, destabilize the Saudis, and strengthen their ties with Iran. That makes sense. I’ll bet that’s what she’s talking about.
…………….
Of course, it may just be an out-of-control escalation of tit-for-tat atrocities between two groups (Sunnis and Shias) who have hated each other for centuries. The Sunnis in Iraq beat the hell out of the Shias for decades. Now the Shias, with their Interior Ministry death squads, have been retaliating. And so forth.
*******
My own take on things: I suspect the Ba’athist Party of Syria (Iraq and Syria were the only two countries dominated by that totalitarian party, which was built on the model of the Nazis and the Italian Fascists during the 1930s and 1940s), which is vindictive, evil, secular (and wouldn’t mind blowing up mosques), and is driven above all else by the desire to knock the Americans out of Iraq.
From now on, you can just call me Juan Cole, he he.
What I find amazing about this story is that not all tribes are out for each others throat. It seems like they are trying to hold onto something that may/may not be viable in that land today. It seems so sad for I do think Rieverbend is so sincere in her thoughts and feelings. NOt everyone is out for killing there. Yes the shrine was such a work of art. It is truly a sad day for everyone. It was honored by all not just one tribe. The feceheads that keep this feces going is nothing but evil.
Thank you for doing my diary here.
and read this!
The ‘Civil War’, Started by Us, is Now Only Going To Grow!!
I can only think of One Thing, and that’s Join Riverbend in Praying It Doesn’t, and I’m not really that Religious, just try to follow that I was taught growing up without interfereing with someone elses life and beliefs!!
I think Riverbend is a Sunni. I do think she has a great head on her shoulder for thinking things out. I have read her diaries from the start of her blog. Each time I read one, she gets into the mindframe that there are something happening that no one is aware of and how it happened is startling! In the almost first diary she was almost gleeful, now she seems somewhat dreading of the days. She used to talk of family and friends..she still does but not as often. She used to talk about home life, she still does, but not as gleeful as in the beginning. Maybe it is just waking up to reality of everything, I do not know. I know that letters coming home from VN was that way to a degree. They were almost pathetically dreadful to hear from someone in the middle of their rotation.
I can go on about my fears for her and her life there, but that is just me and my thoughts. I just get that very bad feeling from her words tonight, is all….:o(
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Baghdad Burning Feb. 11 — We found out a few hours later that one of our neighbors, two houses down, had died. Abu Salih was a man in his seventies and as the Iraqi mercenaries raided his house, he had a heart-attack. His grandson couldn’t get him to the hospital on time because the troops wouldn’t let him leave the house until they’d finished with it. His grandson told us later that day that the Iraqis were checking the houses, but the American troops had the area surrounded and secured. It was a coordinated raid.
They took at least a dozen men from my aunt’ s area alone- their ages between 19 and 40. The street behind us doesn’t have a single house with a male under the age of 50- lawyers, engineers, students, ordinary laborers- all hauled away by the `security forces’ of the New Iraq. The only thing they share in common is the fact that they come from Sunni families (with the exception of two who I’m not sure about).
We spent the day putting clothes back into closets, taking stock of anything missing (a watch, a brass letter opener, and a walkman), and cleaning dirt and mud off of carpets. My aunt was fanatic about cleansing and disinfecting everything saying it was all “Dirty, dirty, dirty…” J. has sworn never to celebrate her birthday again.
It’s almost funny- only a month ago, we were watching a commercial on some Arabic satellite channel- Arabiya perhaps. They were showing a commercial for Iraqi security forces and giving a list of numbers Iraqis were supposed to dial in the case of a terrorist attack… You call THIS number if you need the police to protect you from burglars or abductors… You call THAT number if you need the National Guard or special forces to protect you from terrorists… But…
Who do you call to protect you from the New Iraq’s security forces?
BAGHDAD (The Times) Nov. 16, 2005 — The discovery of ‘abused’ detainees comes as Bush’s Senate allies demand Iraq exit strategy
UP TO 200 starving Iraqis bearing signs of torture have been found in an apparently secret jail in Baghdad in circumstances reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The detainees were found when American troops surrounded and took control of an Interior Ministry building in the Jadriya neighbourhood of Baghdad. The raid was carried out after reports that detainees were being illegally held and tortured there.
When US forces arrived, officials said that only 40 detainees were being held. But as troops moved through the building, opening door after door, they found scores of prisoners, many in very poor health. The Americans had apparently been tipped off to the prison’s existence by relatives of those being detained there.
It appears to be the country’s new Abu Ghraib, the notorious Baghdad prison where Iraqis were pictured being humiliated by American soldiers.
● U.S. Forces Break Up Iraq Torture Ring at Interior Ministry ◊ by Oui
Tue Nov 15th, 2005 at 12:18:04 PM PST
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."▼▼▼ READ MY DIARY ▼
Anyone doubting that America won’t benefit from continued destabilization of Iraq, well, actually, it is a few Americans, actually a few wealthy Americans.
Well, why don’t we hit the nail exactly on the head: the industries who are profiting from building the weapons used in this “war”, and the industries who profit from the so-called reconstruction of Iraq: money will continue to pour into this black hole and disappear, as long as there is destabilitzation.
And these industries have close ties to the republican party, and to some democratic party politicos.
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BAGHDAD (NPR-Morning Edition) January 10, 2006 · Steve Inskeep speaks to an Iraqi journalist whose home was raided in the middle of the night by U.S. forces because of mistaken identity. Ali Fadhil was detained for the night in Baghdad. Fadhil was working for British media on a documentary about the alleged misuse of millions of dollars intended for Iraqi reconstruction.
American troops in Baghdad forced their way into the home of Ali Fadil, who is working with the British TV Channel 4, and fired shots into the room where he was sleeping with his wife and children.
He was taken away by the American troops and released a few hours later, but videotapes he had produced were confiscated and not returned.
“It is simply not acceptable to burst into a journalist’s house, shoot off a few rounds and justify terrorizing a family on the back of a so-called hunt for insurgents, particularly when it concerns a reporter who is asking serious questions about corruption in high places,” said Aidan White, the IFJ secretary general, in a statement.
At the end of last year Fadil was presented the UK Foreign Press Association Young Journalist of the Year award.
Continuano gli attentati in Iraq RAI News24● Is This What They Call Democracy?
“But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY