Some related posts from Technorati and Google.
[Mudville Gazette] Dawn Patrol: in the Iraq insurgency -- as opposed to Ba'athist rejectionists and Sunni nationalists -- has become... can join the conversation.
[CHESTER HAS MOVED!] Separation of Mosque and State: As has been widely reported of late, Basran politics (and everyday life) is increasingly coming under the control of Shiite religious groups, from the relatively mainstream Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq to the bellicose followers of the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr. Recruited from the same population of undereducated, underemployed men who swell these organizations' ranks, many of Basra's rank-and-file police officers maintain dual loyalties to mosque and state.
[Sepia Mutiny] Fareed-peat: by analogy, just because hizbullah (shia), hamas (sunni), al aqsa martyrs brigade (secular sunni) and the PFLP (secular leftist) are threats to israel does not mean they are threats to the USA. if this was a jewish american weblog i suppose people would focus on these groups, but, i would speak up if i felt they were trying to bait and switch by eliding the distinctions between various terror groups and their aims.
[Newsdesk.org] News You Might Have Missed: , on allegations that she confessed to rigging elections in a wiretapped phone conversation (story #o7... "DoJ cracks down on media outlets playing 'Arroyo tape'" PLASTIC CHEMICALS o8 "Link found between...
[Antiwar.com] Iraqi Vote - Worst Possible Outcome: The Sunni ''no'' campaign appeared to have made the two-thirds threshold in Anbar province, the vast western Sunni heartland where Ramadi is the capital, and in Salahuddin, where Sunnis hold a large majority and as many as 90 percent of voters cast ballots. But in two other provinces where Sunni Arabs have only slim majorities -- Ninevah and Diyala -- the ''yes'' vote apparently won out.
[Iraqblogcount.blogspot.com] Iraq Blog Count: Iraq Election Link Special: the Islamic Party withdrew from the elections, leaving the Sunni Arabs with a bunch of secular candidates. Very bad news for those who count on the elections to be meaningful.
[Juancole.com] Informed Comment : 12/01/2003 - 12/31/2003: Reuters reports (via ash-Sharq al-Awsat 12/31) that 400 shops owned by Christians, whom Saddam had permitted to sell liquor, have been forced to close since April, as the Shiites have come to power politically (see below). [An informed observer in Basra reports that this number is hugely exaggerated, but that many shops have been closed.] Stores have been firebombed, and some Christian shopkeepers have been shot, it is said by radical Shiite groups with names like "The Revenge of God, Hizbullah, and the Organization of Islamic Rules." Their members appoint themselves vigilantes, patrolling the streets armed in search of criminals and drug dealers, and executing them on the spot.
Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Iraq, Iraq Reviews
