[lbo-talk] If you liked Fallujah, you'll love Kufa

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Tue Apr 6 18:14:04 PDT 2004


[And we're now in the middle of the Shia high holy days, among which Thursday is extra special. Wonderful time to storm a mosque if you want to make the entire country into an stone throwing intifada.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/06/international/middleeast/06KUFA.html

The New York Times April 6, 2004

KUFA

An Incendiary Cleric Braces His Militia for an Invasion

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

K UFA, Iraq, April 5 The Grand Mosque of Kufa has now become the grand

arsenal.

On Monday, as American authorities issued an arrest warrant for

Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric who set off the most

serious insurrection so far against the occupation forces, hundreds of

his supporters were busy fortifying the mosque here with heavy

weapons, bracing for an American invasion.

Mr. Sadr has barricaded himself inside the golden brick walls,

refusing to surrender. His militia is prowling the streets, staring

down the sights of machine guns, building fighting positions in and

around the mosque, the town's biggest, and pointing rocket-propelled

grenades at the highway heading north the road they expect to see

American forces come rumbling down.

"The only way the Americans will enter this city is entering over our

bodies," said Sheik Abu Mahdi al-Rubayee, a commander in Mr. Sadr's

private army, estimated to number in the tens of thousands. "If they

come for our leader, they will ignite all of Iraq."

Kufa, a sandy, palm-lined town along the banks of the Euphrates River,

is a picture of what may lie ahead if Iraqi security forces are unable

to quell potential insurrections. On Sunday, as part of the uprising

orchestrated by Mr. Sadr, hundreds of militiamen took over Kufa,

driving out Iraqi security forces.

On Monday, blue-and-white Iraqi police trucks cruised the streets. But

it was bearded, black-clad men loyal to Mr. Sadr who were driving

them. The police stations and government offices are now occupied by

Mr. Sadr's agents, who enforce an austere version of Islam and have

even set up their own religious courts and prisons. The town is

basically an occupation-free zone.

"The occupation is ending," vowed Said Sadduck, 26, a disciple of Mr.

Sadr. "This is just the beginning."

American officials, who have accused Mr. Sadr of inciting violence and

unleashing his band of armed followers against American troops, have

said they will capture Mr. Sadr when they are ready.

Dan Senor, a senior spokesman for the occupation authorities, said

there would be no warning.

Many Kufa residents are dreading a showdown. The streets are full of

militiamen, in open disregard of occupation laws calling for private

armies to be disbanded. At a kebab stand in front of the grand mosque,

a man winced as truckloads of armed young men whizzed past.

"This is bad," said Adil Sahab, a doctor's assistant. "Look at how

idle these boys are. Trouble is coming. Can't you feel it?"

Kufa, 100 miles south of Baghdad with 110,000 residents, is the first

Iraqi city to spin entirely out of occupation control. The town is a

stronghold of conservative Shiite beliefs.

For years, it has been the power base of the Sadr family, a learned

band of Shiite clerics. Mr. Sadr's father, a famous ayatollah, was

killed in 1999, along with Mr. Sadr's two older brothers. That left

Moktada, now 31, the leader of the family.

Though Mr. Sadr is not an ayatollah, or top cleric, he has a devoted

following. Part of his appeal is his youth. The other part is his

militancy. While other Shiite clerics have pressed for moderation, Mr.

Sadr has openly rejected the occupation. His newspaper, Al Hawza, was

closed last week after American authorities accused it of printing

lies that incited violence. That began a cycle of demonstrations that

culminated in widespread bloodshed on Sunday.

"He is one of the only ones who is not afraid," said Falah Hussein, a

laborer. "He refuses the occupation. Totally. That's why we like him."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company



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