hatred is getting stronger.
The article "Iraq's maverick cleric hits the books" at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_ayatollah_al_sadr;_ylt=A
shows that Sadr is deficient at the history of torture and has to take tutoring to
compete against the other Shiite blood suckers as "The leader of Iraq's biggest
Shiite militia movement has quietly resumed seminary studies toward
attaining the title of ayatollah - a goal that could make firebrand cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq.
Al-Sadr's objectives - described to The Associated Press by close aides - are
part of increasingly bitter Shiite-on-Shiite battles for control of Iraq's southern oil fields, the lucrative pilgrim trade to Shiite holy cities and the
nation's strategic Persian Gulf outlet.
The endgame among Iraq's majority Shiites also means long-term influence over
Iraqi political and financial affairs as the Pentagon and its allies look to
scale down their military presence in the coming year.
Al-Sadr's backers remain main players in the showdowns across the region, where
fears of even more bloodshed are rising following Wednesday's triple car bombing
in one of the area's main urban hubs. At least 25 people were killed and scores
wounded.
serious challenges to his influence, which includes sway over a bloc in
parliament and a militia force that numbers as many as 60,000 by some estimates.
Becoming an ayatollah - one of the highest Shiite clerical positions - would
give the 33-year-old al-Sadr an important new voice and aura."
The article goes into details about how this degree would make more willing to
become IED carries for him and see their share of virgins in Islamic heaven and
"would give him fresh clout to challenge his top rival, the Supreme
Islamic Iraqi Council, which looks to Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani as its highest religious authority and has its own armed wing, the
Badr Brigade, which have been largely absorbed into Iraqi security forces."
W has always stressed "leaving no child behind" and it is touching that he wants to
help Al-Sadr become the best Muqtada he can be. Also, since he sort of didn't
"bring him in dead or alive" and the US killed Al-Zarqawi, they need a new major
Nemesis, a big-time boogeyman, and al-Sadr could be the ghoul to fill the bill!
"As an ayatollah, his views and fatwas, or religious edicts, would resonate with
even more authority as the battles heat up for sway over Iraq's Shiite
heartland.
Comparisons are often drawn between al-Sadr's strategy - a mix of militia
strength, well-tuned street politics and social outreach - and the hallmarks of
Hezbollah, which has been influenced by Lebanon's top Shiite cleric, Grand
Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, as well Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
founder of Iran's 1979 Islam Revolution.
"If ... Muqtada becomes a religious authority, the entire movement will grow
stronger," said one of the aides who described al-Sadr's seminary studies to the
AP.
The al-Sadr associates - three in all - spoke on condition of anonymity because
they are not authorized to share the information with the media. Their accounts,
made in separate interviews, were in broad agreement.
Al-Sadr currently has the relatively low title of hojat al-Islam, which leaves
his supporters no choice but to seek religious guidance from top establishment
clerics - many of whom al-Sadr sees as out of touch with common Iraqis and
accuses of acquiescing to Washington's demands."
His group's genocide statistics have been down, but with this new maiming degree
he can catch back up "The cleric's absence from the public eye
has raised some questions about his control of the movement, although his aides said he has been in regular contact
with key lieutenants. His loyalists hold 30 of parliament's 275 seats, the
largest share by a single party...
In his latest statement, however, al-Sadr counseled his followers to be patient
in the face of "predicament" and commended them on their adherence to his order
to stand down. But the aides said al-Sadr's own patience may be running thin and
a showdown with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council may be imminent.
"If this continues for much longer, the Sadrist movement will strike back,"
warned one of the aides. "This could have grave consequences for everyone."
W's always ranting about great ally in the Middle East, but they are just as bloodthirsty as W is.
The article "Oxfam criticizes Israeli restrictions" at
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinian_aid&printe
states "International assistance to the Palestinians will not be effective unless Israel
eases travel restrictions that have stalled some aid projects
and sent the costs of others soaring, Oxfam International warned on the eve of a donors' conference.
Israel says the restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are necessary to
ensure its security. But with 80 percent of Palestinians depending on aid, Oxfam
urged donor states to challenge Israel on its policies at their meeting in Paris
next week.
"It is not enough simply to plow more money into Palestine - foreign governments
and the Palestinian Authority must increase the pressure on the Israeli
government to lift the blockade of Gaza and make it possible for people in the
West Bank to go about their business," Oxfam head Jeremy Hobbs said in a news
release. The Red Cross and the World Bank have issued similar warnings in recent days."
As long as Israel commits these atrocities and we have our troops stationed in Islamic
Middle East countries we are the hated infidels. What occupiers aren't hated anyway?
W depends on manipulation of our apathetic red staters for control, but the world knows the shameful truth!
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