I no longer have power to save Iraq from civil war, warns Shia leader
The most influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war.
Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.
"I will not be a political leader any more," he told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters."
Asked whether Ayatollah al-Sistani could prevent a civil war, Mr al-Jaberi replied: "Honestly, I think not. He is very angry, very disappointed."
He said a series of snubs had contributed to Ayatollah al-Sistani's decision. "He asked the politicians to ask the Americans to make a timetable for leaving but they disappointed him," he said. "After the war, the politicians were visiting him every month. If they wanted to do something, they visited him. But no one has visited him for two or three months. He is very angry that this is happening now. He sees this as very bad."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/03/wirq03.xml
American troops caught in the midddle, frustated by lack of clarity to their "mission"
Sergeant Poetsch thought the United States was doing the right thing by toppling Saddam Hussein. But the Army, he says, does not have nearly enough troops to patrol the city effectively, and he says Hit's residents, unlike the people he encountered during his previous tour in Baghdad, do not want to have much to do with the Americans.
"At the beginning, I was all for it," he said. "Saddam Hussein was not a good guy, and I always felt good that he is gone. But somehow it seems it seems that we lost direction. It is just hard for guys here to understand what we are doing. What makes it so significant if we can't have more manpower and better living conditions?"
...
The loss of a comrade hit the platoon hard, as Sgt. Ryan Kahlor, 22, noted in an emotional letter to his parents in San Diego.
"The world keeps turning and so does the fighting in Iraq," he wrote. "Yesterday, my soldier and friend was shot and killed. ...He is the first one in our platoon to be killed. His death has started an uproar of emotions in the platoon."
"No one understands why we are here and what our mission is," Sergeant Kahlor added. "This war is lost. We aren't helping these people. We are just dying and getting injured."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/w...3b4cd70a0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
The most influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war.
Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.
"I will not be a political leader any more," he told aides. "I am only happy to receive questions about religious matters."
Asked whether Ayatollah al-Sistani could prevent a civil war, Mr al-Jaberi replied: "Honestly, I think not. He is very angry, very disappointed."
He said a series of snubs had contributed to Ayatollah al-Sistani's decision. "He asked the politicians to ask the Americans to make a timetable for leaving but they disappointed him," he said. "After the war, the politicians were visiting him every month. If they wanted to do something, they visited him. But no one has visited him for two or three months. He is very angry that this is happening now. He sees this as very bad."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/03/wirq03.xml
American troops caught in the midddle, frustated by lack of clarity to their "mission"
Sergeant Poetsch thought the United States was doing the right thing by toppling Saddam Hussein. But the Army, he says, does not have nearly enough troops to patrol the city effectively, and he says Hit's residents, unlike the people he encountered during his previous tour in Baghdad, do not want to have much to do with the Americans.
"At the beginning, I was all for it," he said. "Saddam Hussein was not a good guy, and I always felt good that he is gone. But somehow it seems it seems that we lost direction. It is just hard for guys here to understand what we are doing. What makes it so significant if we can't have more manpower and better living conditions?"
...
The loss of a comrade hit the platoon hard, as Sgt. Ryan Kahlor, 22, noted in an emotional letter to his parents in San Diego.
"The world keeps turning and so does the fighting in Iraq," he wrote. "Yesterday, my soldier and friend was shot and killed. ...He is the first one in our platoon to be killed. His death has started an uproar of emotions in the platoon."
"No one understands why we are here and what our mission is," Sergeant Kahlor added. "This war is lost. We aren't helping these people. We are just dying and getting injured."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/w...3b4cd70a0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
