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Shiiite's call for State in the South of Iraq

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by Ben W, Aug 12, 2005.

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  1. Ben W

    Ben W Active Member
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    Aug 11, 2005

    The head of an Iranian-trained Shi'ite militia associated with one of the main parties in the Iraqi government said on Thursday Shi'ites should have their own federal state in the south of Iraq.
       
    "Federalism has to be in all of Iraq. They are trying to prevent the Shi'ites from enjoying their own federalism," Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr Brigades, told thousands of Shi'ites gathered in the sacred southern city of Najaf.
       
    "We have to persist in forming one region in the south or else we will regret it. What have we got from the central government except death?" he said.
       
    The call for a southern Shi'ite state comes at a critical time when Iraqi leaders are scrambling to finish a draft constitution to submit to parliament before a self-imposed Aug. 15 deadline.
       
    Federalism is one of the most volatile issues in talks on the constitution, which the Shi'ite-led government and their US allies hope will defuse the Arab Sunni-led insurgency.
       
    "We must have federalism in the south in order to guarantee our rights, which enemies are trying try to prevent us from having," Amiri said.
       
    He was speaking to an emotional crowd commemorating the second anniversary of the death of revered Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, who along with 83 other people was killed by a car bomb in Najaf in 2003.
       
    The Badr Brigades, former Iraqi army soldiers who turned against Saddam Hussein in the war with Iran in the 1980s, are hated by many Sunnis, who were dominant under Saddam.
       
    Some Sunni Iraqis accuse the the Shi'ite-led government of sanctioning Badr Brigades death squads who work alongside police and security services. The government and the militia deny the accusations.
       
    Kurds have enjoyed a de facto state in the north since 1991, when American troops set up a no-fly zone to protect them from Saddam Hussein's army.
       
    Sunnis favour a strong central government with tight control over oil resources in the Kurdish north and Shi'ite south. 

    http://www.tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425822/603750
     
    #1 Ben W, Aug 12, 2005
  2. church mouse guy

    church mouse guy Well-Known Member
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    The whole area has artificial boundaries drawn by the British. The Kurds, sometimes called people with a country, are not Arabs at all. I have read that they are mostly Sunni Muslims--does anyone know what religion the Kurds in Iraq are?

    Some are saying that the fighting in Iraq involves mostly people from other countries. I think that freedom will prevail.

    Australia has been one of the best friends to America for many decades. If we all believed in Jesus, we could all be together in Heaven for eternity, couldn't we?
     
    #2 church mouse guy, Aug 12, 2005
  3. Ben W

    Ben W Active Member
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    Absolutley!

    It is worth pointing out that the Kurds are responding to the gospel albeit in small numbers. Yet ultimatley, that is the answer for them.
     
    #3 Ben W, Aug 13, 2005
  4. elijah_lives

    elijah_lives New Member

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    "It is worth pointing out that the Kurds are responding to the gospel albeit in small numbers. Yet ultimatley, that is the answer for them. "

    Yes. And as Cyrus was raised by God to free the Israelites from the bondage of Babylon, so also was President Bush raised to free Iraq and Afganistan for the purpose of permitting the gospel to penetrate the Islamic lands. But a note of warning: Persia_Medes was ultimately judged through the agency of Alexander the Great. Just because WE were the agency of judgement does not mean we ourselves will not be judged (Jer. chapter 18). I suspect that this "war on terror" IS our judgement, that WE have become Babylon (Rev. 18:8).

    In any case, the British have surely left us a mess to contend with. Splitting Iraq along religious/ethnic lines is logical, but the distribution of natural resources (read: oil) would benefit the Kurds and Shiites, while depriving the Sunnis of any potential economic resources with which they could sustain themselves.
     
    #4 elijah_lives, Aug 13, 2005
  5. Ben W

    Ben W Active Member
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    True, effectivley Iraq is three nations in one and often three groups that are opposed to one another. I think that Turkey is not keen on a Kurdish state because the Kurds in Turkey may well want the same!
     
    #5 Ben W, Aug 16, 2005
  6. church mouse guy

    church mouse guy Well-Known Member
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    Exactly. The Kurds are nice people.
     
    #6 church mouse guy, Aug 16, 2005
  7. elijah_lives

    elijah_lives New Member

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    Which makes me wonder why we tolerate Turkey's slaughter of the Kurds? They are, after all, a member of NATO. Or, am I seeing this incorrectly? 10,000 dead Kurds in 5 years is an awful lot... (On the other hand, we ignore Africa as well, but that's another topic).

    Tim
     
    #7 elijah_lives, Aug 16, 2005
  8. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    I think I may be in favor of three states. Shiite in the south, Sunnis in the middle and the Kurds in the north.
    Turn 'em loose and see if they can learn to coexist.

    Anyone want to make a guess which would be the most successful?
     
    #8 carpro, Aug 16, 2005
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