[lbo-talk] The US unites Iraq

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Wed Apr 7 06:44:25 PDT 2004


[against us. Way to bridge those sectarian divides! One thing that always distinguished Sadr from other Shia clerics/militia leaders has been his emphasis on the Arab character of Iraq.]

[Note: Khadamiya is a middle class neighborhood that was not previously known for its radicalism. This means Sadr's influence is extending well beyond the slums.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/07/international/middleeast/07SADR.html

The New York Times April 7, 2004

At Word of U.S. Foray, a Baghdad Militia Erupts

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

B AGHDAD, Iraq, April 6 The word went out on Tuesday at noon, with the

blast of the call to prayer: American soldiers had raided an office of

Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, and torn up a poster of

his father, one of Iraq's most revered martyrs.

The Khadamiya bazaar exploded in a frenzy. Shopkeepers reached beneath

stacks of sandals for Kalashnikov rifles. Boys wrapped their faces in

black cloth. Men raced through the streets, kicking over crates and

setting up barriers. Some handed out grenades. Within minutes this

entire Shiite neighborhood in central Baghdad had mobilized for war.

"We're going to attack a tank!" yelled Majid Hamid, 32, waving an

assault rifle.

The incident was another example of the power vacuum spreading across

Iraq during the disturbance in Khadamiya, there were no American

soldiers, no Iraqi police and no order. It also cut to the heart of

the militia issue, which remains a problem despite the occupation

authorities' insistence that private armies disband. And it showed the

depth of support for Mr. Sadr, the firebrand cleric who is blamed for

the most serious insurrection yet and is now wanted by the Americans.

American officials estimate the number of people in his private army

at 3,000. But as the display of force o Tuesday showed, there were

thousands of men and boys in just one Baghdad neighborhood ready to

fight for Mr. Sadr. And as battles raged throughout the country, in

Sunni bastions like Falluja and Ramadi and in Shiite areas like Sadr

City, it was growing increasingly clear that the militias could

materialize almost instantaneously. While many people bakers,

teachers, sandwich makers hold normal jobs, when the call comes, they

line up with Mr. Sadr's force, the Mahdi Army.

"This man is not a firefighter," said Lt. Mohammed Abu Kadar, tapping

one of his men on the shoulder outside a fire station in Khadamiya.

"He is Mahdi Army."

"This man, too," the lieutenant, a two-star officer of the Iraqi Civil

Defense Corps, said, grabbing another firefighter. "He may wear this

uniform, but he is Mahdi Army."

Then the lieutenant tapped his own chest. "We may work for the

government now," Lieutenant Kadar said. "But if anything happens, we

all work for Sadr."

The situation in Khadamiya is similar to the one in Kufa, a small town

south of the capital, which is entirely controlled by Mr. Sadr's

militia, and Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood of two

million in Baghdad, where Mr. Sadr's men have driven out the Iraqi

police in clashes that have killed eight American soldiers.

There may also be an ominous synergy developing between Sunni and

Shiite insurgents. On Monday, insurgents fought a gun battle against

United States troops in a Sunni neighborhood near Khadamiya in which

three soldiers were killed. Witnesses said the attackers included a

mix of Shiites and Sunnis. "There were Shiites from Sadr City and

mujahedeen from Falluja," a hotbed of Sunni resistance, said Ayad

Karim, a shopkeeper. "Now the resistance is united."

On a white sheet hung from the bullet-ridden walls of a Sunni mosque

were the words: "Our banner in Adamiya is the same banner as in

Khadamiya. If they have a problem, we are their backup and their right

hand."

Adamiya is a mostly Sunni area. Khadamiya is mostly Shiite. The two

neighborhoods are linked by a bridge over the Tigris River. Rival

Sunni and Shiite gangs used to cross the bridge to rumble. Now, people

say, militants cross the bridge to coordinate attacks.

According to witnesses, the disturbance on Tuesday started when

American soldiers raided a Khadamiya office of Mr. Sadr's, looking for

weapons. Jaffar Qasim, a 29-year-old guard, said the soldiers kicked

away the lunch he was eating and then ripped off the wall a poster of

Mr. Sadr's father, who was assassinated in 1999. Hours later, Mr.

Qasim was still crying. His hands vibrated with frustration. The

American soldiers, he said, also stomped into a prayer room where

shoes are forbidden.

"If I could kill them I would," he said, looking at the dusty

footprints of combat boots on a worn red carpet. "But I had my orders.

And I didn't have a gun."

American military officials would not comment on the raid or the

activity in Khadamiya except to confirm that three soldiers were

killed there during attacks.

Many of Mr. Sadr's followers said they had made an agreement with

American commanders that they would avoid the bloodshed that erupted

in Sadr City on Sunday if the American forces agreed to stay out of

the neighborhood, home to a famous Shiite shrine. But the raid broke

that agreement, Mr. Sadr's followers said. And destroying the poster

of one of their martyrs seemed the ultimate disrespect.

So the revolt began. Men in Khadamiya's bazaar suddenly produced guns.

Shopkeepers dashed into the streets with rifles. "Moktada! Moktada!

Moktada!" many yelled.

Almost overnight, seemingly, Mr. Sadr, 31, has emerged as the most

dangerous man to the American-led occupation. But if the increasing

attendance at his demonstrations is an indication, his support has

been building for months. Part of his appeal is his militancy. While

other Shiite clerics have pressed for moderation, Mr. Sadr has openly

called for an end to the occupation. His newspaper, Hawza, was closed

last week after American authorities accused it of printing lies that

incited violence. That began a cycle of protests that culminated in

widespread bloodshed on Sunday.

Months ago, some of Mr. Sadr's rivals said he had only a few hundred

armed men behind him. Hazim al-Aarji, Mr. Sadr's chief commander in

Khadamiya, maintains there are 50,000 members of the Mahdi Army just

in Baghdad. Mohammed Kadem, a 23-year-old Mahdi Army fighter from

Khadamiya, said the force had been lying quietly for months, with arms

they looted nearly a year ago. "We just kept them in our homes," Mr.

Kadem said. "We knew this time might come."

Mr. Kadem detailed a training program in which he and other Shiite

youths took buses to Sadr City to practice marksmanship in an open

field. Marching orders are disseminating through mosques, Mr. Kadem

explained, and ammunition is supplied by central offices.

On Tuesday, Mr. Kadem was part of a crowd massing in the streets of

Khadamiya, screaming and staring down American tanks. A few gunshots

were exchanged and there were different reports of casualties, but

nothing could be confirmed on Tuesday night. Next to him was Mr.

Qasim, the guard who saw the poster ripped down.

This time Mr. Qasim was no longer crying. And this time, Mr. Qasim had

a Kalashnikov in his hands.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company



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