Religion, Nationalism, and Terror

The Jamestown Foundation, 10/29/2007

By Babak Rahimi (from Terrorism Monitor, October 25) -

The recent “pact of honor” made by two of Iraq’s most influential Shiite clerics, Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim—aimed at preventing violence and helping to maintain the “Islamic and national interest” of Iraq—appears to signal a significant shift toward stability in Iraq. The two leaders have pledged to enhance relations between their respective groups, merging media and cultural projects, and to refrain from launching negative propaganda against each other (Fars News Agency, October 6). Yet, more importantly, the pact calls for promotion of the legal-political order of post-Baathist Iraq, a major move that could give new life to Nuri al-Maliki’s government and curtail potential violence in the south. As the first official agreement between these two prominent leaders, the forged pact can also be recognized as a huge step in improving intra-Shiite relations. Not since the formation of the United Iraqi Alliance, which brought together a number of Shiite political parties under the spiritual leadership of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in 2003, has Shiite politics seen such a unified front. The struggle for domination between rival Shiite groups has caused huge problems in the south, especially after the December 2005 elections. Despite a number of attempts for reconciliation, the enmity between al-Hakim and al-Sadr and their militias has remained a major security problem, especially in the provinces of Basra and Maysan, where the two factions are vying for control over oil and territory.

Disagreements only intensified after the British withdrawal from Basra in early September, causing trouble for an already unstable Iraqi government seeking reconciliation over major political issues such as federalism and the distribution of oil. Seen in such a context, this new deal is made at a time when the “surge” strategy has gradually shown signs of relative military success in places like the eastern and central provinces, where al-Qaeda forces continue to lose the support of Sunni Iraqis. Yet, one important question remains to be answered: does the new pact promise any significant improvement in the country’s political situation at such a crucial stage in its history?

Iraq | They say the Mahdi is coming back | Economist.com, October 25, 2007

Many Basrawis use the language of apocalypse to describe the rival Shia parties and their militias (the biggest calling itself the Mahdi Army) that are struggling for control of their city. The police force, set up by the British, is infiltrated by the militias and involved in crime. Some Basra people say the clashes, assassinations, kidnappings, the daily threat of violence and the enforcement of a rigid Islamist code of conduct amount to a “Shia Talibanisation”, with music and wedding parties banned and huge billboards warning women against venturing outside unveiled.

“We live a half-life in Basra,” says a university teacher. “There’s no space for life, no parks, theatres, cinemas or space for freedom. Civil and political activities are controlled. When you go outside, the fear is inside you that you may be followed and targeted. We’re living in a nightmare.”

Many Basra people blame the British for their plight but still say that their rapid withdrawal would lead to outright war between the militias. “We have a saying”, says another academic, “that a just non-Muslim ruler is better than a Muslim tyrant.” The British invaders, some Basrawis argue, could have won people over if they had showed a willingness to support the hidden Mahdi. “One of our traditions says that most of those standing against him will be Muslims and most of his followers will be from the Christian community.”

The Blotter: U.S.: Al Qaeda Using Iraqi Government Vehicles, Ambulances,

October 22, 2007

Citing evidence that insurgents and al Qaeda terrorists are using Iraqi government vehicles and ambulances to carry out missions, Gen. David Petraeus has ordered a new system of checkpoints for almost all Iraqi official convoys and motorcades.

The only exceptions, according to an unclassified version of Gen. Petraeus’ order, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, are “Tier 1″ motorcades, such as that of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

U.S. officials in Washington confirmed the order and say it has been in effect since early October.

Aram Roston, Ex-top envoy calls Iraqi government a failure, MSNBC.com, October 19, 2007

Former ambassador says country ‘falling apart,’ blames ministers, U.S.

WASHINGTON - A principal architect of Iraq’s interim constitution, who resigned in August as one of the country’s top diplomats, has laid out a devastating critique of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the U.S. occupation, telling NBC News that, functionally, “there is no Iraqi government.”

The diplomat, Feisal Amin Istrabadi, said in his first interview since stepping down as Iraq’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations that “this government has got to go.”

When he resigned, Istrabadi, a U.S.-born lawyer who lobbied for the U.S. invasion and was the principal legal drafter of Iraq’s interim constitution, said he was leaving because it was time for fresh ideas after having served three years at the United Nations.

Tom Lasseter, Iranian-Backed Militia Groups Take Control of Much of Southern Iraq, Knight Ridder, May 27, 2006

BASRA, Iraq - Southern Iraq, long touted as a peaceful region that’s likely to be among the first areas returned to Iraqi control, is now dominated by Shiite Muslim warlords and militiamen who are laying the groundwork for an Islamic fundamentalist government, say senior British and Iraqi officials in the area.

The militias appear to be supported by Iranian intelligence or military units that are shipping weapons to the militias in Iraq and providing training for them in Iran….

Iranian influence is evident throughout the area. In one government office, an aide approached a Knight Ridder reporter and, mistaking him for an Iranian, said, “Don’t be afraid to speak Farsi in Basra. We are a branch of Iran.”…

British military officials suspect that the missile that was used to shoot down a British helicopter over Basra on May 6 came from Iran. Five British soldiers died.

“We had intelligence suggesting five surface-to-air missile systems being brought over from Iran only seven days before it went down,” said Maj. Rob Yuill, a British officer based in Basra.

Last month…, at least 200 people were killed in Basra, almost all of them by militia violence, according to an Iraqi Defense Ministry official there.A week with British troops in Maysan and Basra provinces and three additional days of reporting in the city of Basra made it clear that Iraqis here are at the mercy of Shiite militia death squads and Iran-friendly clerics who have imposed an ever-stricter code of de facto Islamic law.

The city of Basra has largely come under the control of Shiite clerics, who have banned alcohol sales. A woman without a headscarf is a rare sight. Record shops have been replaced with stores selling Quranic recordings. It’s difficult to purchase chess or backgammon sets; the games are frowned upon by hard-line clerics….

U.S. forces are dependent on a fragile re-supply line that runs from Kuwait north to Baghdad through southern Iraq. A regional government allied with Iran could pose a risk to that supply line.

Basra airport director kidnapped by unknown gunmen, The Times of India, October 10, 2007

BAGHDAD: The director of the international airport of Iraq’s southern port city of Basra was kidnapped by unknown gunmen outside his home on Tuesday night, a security official said.

Abdul Razak Kassem was abducted when he arrived back from work at his home in a residential area close to the airport, the official said.

There were no immediate further details. British troops pulled out of Basra city on September 2-3 but fears of a Shiite turf war remain and sectarian violence continues.

Some 5,250 British troops are now stationed at Basra airport but Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday that Britain would cut these numbers by more than half to 2,500 from early next year.

Insitute of Peace and War Reporting, Climate of Fear Stymies Basra Reporters, (2-Oct-07

Journalists risk death if they try to report candidly about the troubled city.

By Safa al-Mansoor and Dhiya al-Mussa in Basra

As a reporter for a US-backed radio station in the southern city of Basra, Majid al-Brekan had received threats before - but none like this.

One day in late March, as Brekan slipped into the driver’s seat of his car in front of his house, he noticed three masked men riding on a motorcycle behind him. Fearing trouble, Brekan quickly turned on his ignition and slammed on the accelerator. The men shot and damaged his car, but Brekan escaped without injury.

The incident shook the journalist so much that he decided to flee his home city. The press is not free in the southern oil-rich city, said Brekan bitterly, because journalists are in harm’s way.

“We are fearful and cautious about our work,” said Brekan, who works for Radio Sawa - an Arabic language radio station, funded by the United States government and broadcast throughout Iraq. “We can’t report the full story in detail because no one protects us.”

Local journalists who remain describe a climate of fear. They work quietly, not wanting to incite the wrath of the local Shia militias or Islamic parties that have taken control of the city since British forces stationed there handed it back to be governed by locals.

These include Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s political wing and Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia; the Shia Fadheela Party, which holds substantial political power in Basra; and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and its Badr Organisation, which Iraqi exiles in Iran founded in 1982 to oppose former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s regime. Basra’s Sunni citizens have largely been pushed out of the province.

Journalists say that openly criticising political parties or militias is a “red line” not to be crossed

Rival Shiites in Iraq agree to truce - Los Angeles Times, October 7, 2007

BAGHDAD — Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr and his chief rival, Abdelaziz Hakim, reached a truce Saturday to end bloodshed between their loyalists that has killed scores of Iraqis and raised fears of a new front in the Iraq war.

Officials of Hakim’s Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council said the deal was hammered out during a 4 1/2 -hour meeting between the Shiite Muslim leaders, whose militias have been vying for control of oil-rich southern Iraq. Both sides said they would reveal details today.

1,000 troops ‘home by Christmas’ as Iraq takes command of Basra - Times Online, October 3, 2007

Gordon Brown used a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday to announce the withdrawal of 1,000 British troops by Christmas, bringing the military presence down to 4,500.

Downing Street acknowledged that 500 of the 1,000-man cutback had been announced in June by Des Browne, the Defence Secretary.There are 5,250 British troops in Iraq, all based at the fortified Basra airbase outside the city.

…Iyad Allawi, a former Iraqi Prime Minister, claimed in an interview with The Times that fighting between rival Shia militias in the south, some backed by Iran, meant that Basra was on “the verge of explosion”.

In a snapshot of the unrest, the Basra police chief survived a third assassination attempt on Monday after a roadside bomb exploded near his car. In addition, the Basra council remains in crisis after a failed attempt to oust its governor.

Woman’s face covered by black paint in cell phone ad

‘Shiite Taliban’ rises as British depart Basra | csmonitor.com, September 18, 2007

Now, as the British prepare to exit Basra Province altogether after pulling out from this provincial capital last week, they leave behind what has been described by many here as an emerging “Shiite Taliban state,” a reference to Sunni extremists in Afghanistan.

And with the British gone, many say, they leave open the possibility that Iran could extend its influence within the mosques, religious schools, and militant party headquarters. Over the past four years, Basra has undergone its own Islamic revolution of sorts.

Posters of the leader of Iran’s 1979 social and religious revolt, Ayatollah Khomeini, who at the time imposed similar limits on his society, are plastered everywhere in Basra.

Public parties are banned. Selling musical CDs is forbidden in shops. Those who sell or consume alcohol face recrimination, even death. Artists and performers are severely restricted and even labeled as heretics. A famous city landmark, a replica of the Lion of Babylon statue that stood here for decades was blown up by militants in July. It was considered idolatrous, according to the strict interpretation of Islam.

Signs ordering women to cover up appear throughout the city. One woman, an Iraqi female activist from Basra, says the notices even threaten death. One banner, she says, said unveiled women could be murdered and no one could remove their bodies from the street.

Many Trainees Are Complicit With Enemy Targets - washingtonpost.com, September 4, 2007

Building up the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces has been a pillar of Gen. David H. Petraeuss counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, but the Iraqi army in Kadhimiyah is so thoroughly infiltrated with Mahdi Army militiamen that U.S. and Iraqi soldiers say it is close to useless. Iraqi soldiers in Kadhimiyah have been arrested and accused of attacking Americans and other Iraqi troops. Those who are not affiliated with the militia, which is loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, tend to be too frightened for their families to pursue their corrupt colleagues.