Iraq Reviews > The Rise of the Religious Right in Iraq

MarteyDodoo.comhttp://www.marteydodoo.com [MarteyDodoo.com] Vincent wrote about the influence that Shi’ite religious groups had on the police and other governmental organizations in Basra, part of the British sector in southern Iraq. Interestingly, the BBC News article covering his death glosses over one of the primary points of his op-ed - that while the British were doing an adequate job in training the Basra police to combat insurgency, they were failing to teach them any respect for human rights or liberal democracy.

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http://pacanukeha.blogspot.com  It's all about control: He quoted a senior Iraqi police lieutenant saying some officers were behind many of the killings of former Baath party members in Basra. (via Cosmos)

Six Meat Buffet: Veteran journalist and blogger Steven Vincent was discovered by a Basra (Iraq) roadside earlier this morning . (via Cosmos)

http://birdingbabylon.blogspot.com [Birding Babylon] I put a donation button on the website today. I c...: I found an email from BBC correspondent Frank Gardner on the OSME yahoo group (MEBirdNet) who reported what was probably the first westerner's report of Iraqi bird sightings in a decade from Basra in May 2003. Tragically in June 2004 Frank, the BBC security correspondent in the Middle East, was shot multiple times and partially paralyzed in Saudi Arabia in a terrorist associated attack that killed a BBC cameraman.

http://thebluevoice.blogspot.com [The Blue Voice] In The Red Zone: Per Laura Rozen, NPR reports "Vincent and his translator were abducted outside his hotel by people in a white pick up with 'police' written on it, but no license plate". As Rozen notes, Vincent described a similar vehicle in his NYT op-ed piece used in assasinations of Sunni Muslims by Shiite extremists.

The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweilerhttp://www.nicedoggie.net [The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler] Steven Vincent Murdered in Basra: It isn't worth spending one western dime helping to create a democracy there, because the majority of Iraqis currently are Islamic fundamentalist who approve of this behavior, and don't want separation of church and state. The British probably couldn't find non fundy cops.

[SoCalPundit] Is Journalist, Vincent’s Death A Sign of Bigger Problems In Basra?: Stephen Vincent has recently written several reports of The British contingent of military personel in Basra, Iraq standing by as Islamic extremists take over the police force and government there. This revelation about Steven Vincent’s last blog postings seem to back those claims up.

[Mythusmage Opines] An Open Letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair: For the sake of other members of the Coalition of the Willing and the people of Iraq I call for your withdrawal from the coalition. I'm sure we can find somebody more reliable and more willing to take the steps necessary to correct the ongoing corruption in the city of Basra.

[toxicle.org] American Journalist Killed in Iraq: Steven Vincent was the first American journalist killed in Iraq. The free-lance journalist and author from Manhattan writing about the rise of conservative Shiite Islam and the corruption of the Iraqi police was shot and killed last night in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

News.bbc.co.ukhttp://news.bbc.co.uk [News.bbc.co.uk] BBC NEWS | In Depth | 2003 | Reporters Log | Reporters' log: Final ...: We waited for a few days in a former factory situated on one of Basra's waterways. For company, we had some oil smugglers, who were trying to sit out the war before they could resume business.

Juancole.com[Juancole.com] Informed Comment: Now, after a second attack on London in as many weeks, which might easily have been as bad as the first, I can't help but notice (as you yourself have done) that my government's policies are putting me, my fellow Londoners and everyone else in Britain at an increased risk of falling victim to terrorists. What's worse is that in doing so they've been deliberately and repeatedly ignoring the advice of the UK's intelligence services, departmental advisers and independent experts, as well as strenuously avoiding any honest discussion of the problem, preferring to obscure the issues with self-serving mendacity.

Dailywarnews.blogspot.comhttp://dailywarnews.blogspot.com [Dailywarnews.blogspot.com] Today in Iraq: We imagine 5,500 conscientious objectors to a bloody quagmire, soldiers like Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, who strongly and eloquently protested the Iraq war, having actually served there and witnessed civilians killed and prisoners abused, and who was subsequently court-martialed, found guilty of desertion, and given a year in prison. But deserters rarely leave for purely political reasons.

Back-to-iraq.comhttp://www.back-to-iraq.com [Back-to-iraq.com] Back to Iraq 3.0: He fears the insurgents and their homemade bombs, but he also fears the Shi’ite government in Baghdad and its new army. His fear reveals the fault lines of the new Iraq and the challenge the Marines face in their mission here.

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