linked - Institut kurde de Paris

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti PRiNCE OF Bt\GHDAD Sadr exerts control over a growing number of neighborhoods besides the vast Shiite enclave of Sadr City, home ta 2 million or more Iraqis. men, including one who f11lghthave information on al-Taayic. But police said a young boy was amollg-thrl'c people killed in the raid. A membcr of P,\rhament from Sadr's movement promptl)' ~howed up at the morgue, and hcld th.. COI pf-Cof the boy in his arms as he r(\Jledag.lln~t the Ameril'an occupation. U.S. forces have tricd hard to win hearts and minds. Thcy've spcnt $120.9 million on completed construction projects in Sadr City, for instance-building new sewers and power lines-and projects worth an additional $197 million are underway. But the United States doesn't always get credit for the good works. When the Americans doled out cash to construct four health clinics in Sadr City during the past year, Sadr's men quickly removed any hint ofU.S. involvement. They also put up signs giving all credit to their boss, according to LI. Zeroy Lawson, an Army intelligence officer who works in the area. The Mahdi Army has other sources of cash. It's taken control of gas stations throughout large parts of Baghdad, and dominates the Shia trade in propane-gas canisters, which Iraqis use for cooking. Sometimes the militiamen sell the propane at a premium, earning healthy prof- 11
Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Ozeti its; at other times they sell it at well below market rates, earning gratitude from the poor and unemployed. A key source ofSadr's incarne is Muslim tithes-or khoms-collected at mosques. But his militiamen also run extortion and protection rackets-demanding money to keep certain businesses and individuals "safe."One lraqi in a tough neighborhood, who did not want to reveal his name out of fear, says he pays the local Mahdi Army the equivalent of $13 a month for protection. Analysts believe that Iran has also provided support to Sadr, but not much. Tehran began supplying Shia insurgents, including the Mahdi Army, with a special type of roadside bomb, using a shaped charge, in May 2005. These are often disguised as rocks and are easy to manufacture locally. But diplomats say they are made to the exact design perfected by Iranian intelligence and supplied to Lebanese Hizbullah in the 1980s. Yet Tehran's main Shiite clients in Iraq are rivals of Sadr, who is often critical of Persian influence. Sadr worries that Iran may be trying to infiltrate his movement, and he's almost surely right. Fatah al- Sheikh, who is close to Sadr, says the boss sent a private letter to loyal imams around Baghdad in the past two weeks ident:ifYing A FIGHT TO THE FINISH Mahdi Army fighters pose with pictures of Sadr and the burned -out wreckage of a U.S. First Infantry Division Humvee struck by a racket on the outskirts of Kufah, April 2004 10 followers he believed were suspect. They had been using the Mahdi Army name, but Sadr believes they're really tools ofIranian intelligence, says Sheikh. Sadr has tried to distance himself from atrocities, insisting that they're carried out by renegades or impostors. Many Sunnis, to whom Sadr has become a dark symbol of Shiite perfidy, don't buy it. "If he says, 'Kill Alusi,' 1will be killed," says Mithal al- Alusi, a moderate Sunni member ofParliament. "If he says, 'Don't kill Alusi,' 1 will not be killed ... Nobody can go against his orders or wishes." The Association of Muslim Scholars, which is loosely linked with Sunni insurgents, says the Mahdi Army has attacked sorne 200 Sunni mosques, and killed more than 260 imams and mosque workers. AlI the killings will be remembered, and it will be a miracle if they go unanswered. Memories of martyrdom-and the desire for revenge-can last forever. Last Friday marked the an niversary, on the Islamic calendar, of the killing of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr and his two eldest sons. After the previous day's bombings, Moqtada told government officials that he was out of the country. But that seems to have been a feintto keep possible enemies off balance. ln fact, he appeared at the Kufah Mosque, where his father used to lead worshipers in chants of"No, no to America; no, no to Israel; no, no to the Devil!" As word spread that Moqtada would lead prayers, people crowded into the mosque, most of them clad in black as a sign of mourning. Sadr asked worshipers to pray for his dead relatives, and also for those who had been killed in Sadr City. He again called for the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He urged a top Sunni sheik to issue three fatwas: one against the killing of Shiites, another against joining Al Qaeda and the third to rebuild the shrine in Samarra. He compared his father's followers to those of the Prophet Muhammad. ''After the prophet died," he intoned, "sorne of his followers deviated from his teachings, and the same has happened with followers of my father." The "cursed trio"-Americans, British and Israelis-were trying to divide Iraq. "We Iraqis-Sunnis and Shia-will always be brothers." No one in Iraq talks about arresting Sadr for the murder of al-Khoei anymore. That seems like ages ago-back when Sadr's armed supporters were estimated in the hundreds, compared with many thousands today. Now diplomats speak of trying to keep Sadr inside the political system, hoping he can tame his followers. He's a militant Islamist and anti-occupation, they say, but he's also a nationalist, and not as close to Iran as sorne ofhis rivals. Nobody knows whether Sadr is dissembling when he speaks about Iraqi unity, or preparing for all-outwar. What is clear-more todaythan ever before-is that it's time to stop underestimating him. • SADR WORRIES THAT IRAN MAY BE TRYING TO INFILTRATE THE MAHDI ARMY, AND HE'S ALMOST SURELY RIGHT. 12
Page 1 and 2: KURDE INSTITUT DE PARIS Information
Page 3 and 4: Bulletin 261 (Dec. 06) Contents:
Page 5 and 6: n° 261 • December 2006 Informati
Page 21 and 22: Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhev
Page 29: Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhev
Page 81 and 82:
Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhev
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
show all

linked - Institut kurde de Paris

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?