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Shiite, Sunni Clerics in Iraq Condemn Israel, US; Muqtada: 9/11 Divine Retribution on US AFP reports that both Shiite and Sunni Muslim preachers on Friday continued to protest against the assassination of Hamas clerical leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, “burning Israeli flags and accusing the United States of remaining silent over the killing.” (On Friday, the […]

Muqtada, Sistani’s Rep, Condemn Interim Constitution Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1608 gmt 26 Mar 04 via BBC Monitoring, reports that Muqtada al-Sadr also demanded in his sermon that if the Governing Council does not repeal the interim constitution or law of state administration, it should dissolve itself. He called the temporary constitution a “terrorist […]

Basra: Women Coerced to Veil, Shops Attacked David Delanian writes more on the role of Shiite militias in imposing a mini-theocracy in the southern port city of Basra. ‘ Menacing groups of men have been stopping cars at the university gates and haranguing women whose heads are uncovered, accusing them of violating Islamic law. Male […]

Rosen: The Violence is Relentless; Clerics Speak of Jihad against Infidel Americans Freelance journalist Nir Rosen, who has been living in the real Iraq unembedded, lets loose with what the Sunni heartland of Iraq is actually like under US occupation. It is, clearly, a hellhole that has all the stability of a pressure cooker with […]

Against the Three-State “Solution” in Iraq My review of 2 books on Iraq, Toby Dodge’s Inventing Iraq and Anderson and Stansfield’s The Future of Iraq, which appeared in The Nation last week, is now online. Excerpts: ” . . . The League of Nations announced a British Mandate in Iraq at San Remo in the […]

3 US Troops Killed, 9 Iraqis, 1 Jordanian Killed al-Hayat: It was announced on Thursday in Baghdad that three American troops and nine Iraqis were killed, along with a Jordanian driver, in separate attacks. In Kirkuk, a fire broke out in an oil well after the explosion of a bomb. There was a two-hour-long firefight […]

Stalemate between Sistani and Governor Sfouk in Karbala Aamer Madhani reports on the stalemate in Karbala between the American-appointed provincial governing council and Grand Ayatollah Sistani. The CPA administrator there, John Berry, had consulted with tribal leaders and called for volunteers in January, when he expanded the membership to 40 from 17. Deborah Amos of […]

Prince Hassan Warns of World War III Prince Hassan of Jordan has expressed fears that the current Middle East crisis may eventuate in “World War III.” He points to the Israeli murder of Sheikh Yassin, the renewed tensions between Hizbullah and Israel, the possibility of Syria and Iran being drawn in, and the general repercussions […]

Israeli Tourism Devastated by Sharon The murder of Sheikh Yassin, the clerical leader of Hamas, has led to the collapse of what was left of the Israeli tourism industry, wth half of the remaining tours having been suddenly cancelled. (- ash-Sharq al-Awsat).