The Najaf ‘massacre’ divides country

[sabra]

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2007-02-06/kurd.htm

The Najaf ‘massacre’ divides country

Iraqi tribes and legislators are pressing the government to conduct an independent investigation of the battle of Najaf in which hundreds of Iraqi Shiites were killed.

The battle took place on February 28 and after nine days the government is still reticent on the circumstances that prompt it to use force against what many now see were peaceful tribesmen on their way to pay homage to the shrines in the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala.

The battle is reported to have even split the Shiite community with many Shiite Arab tribes openly challenging the growing power of pro-Iran Shiite political factions.
...

But parliamentary speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, said that he received letters from tribal leaders in the south refuting the government version of events.

Mashhadani called the battle ‘a massacre’, accusing the government of hiding the truth of what exactly happened in Najaf.

[seriousstan]

1. I should listen to a "news" report that can't get the date right....why?

[Tin Man]

2. Maybe it's the Iraqi calendar?

:shrug:

:rofl:

[sabra]

3. good point... though they are an Iraqi media source

that the gov't wants to shutdown.

http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/11152

Parliament asks government to close Azzaman

A statement by the Iraqi parliament urges Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki to close down Azzaman newspaper.

The statement also asks Maliki to ban Al-Sharqiya television, the nation-wide network operated in coordination with Azzaman newspaper.

The statement issued Monday cites what the parliament describes the outlets’ coverage of a recent draft law the legislators passed on turning the country into a federal state.

Both the newspaper and al-Sharqiya television were critical of the law, warning that it represents a prelude to the division of the country on sectarian and ethnic grounds.

[MrPrax]

4. If anyone needs a reminder...

This is what the White Men who kill for money told you last week:

U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed some 250 gunmen from an apocalyptic Muslim cult on Sunday in a battle involving U.S. tanks and aircraft near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi police, army and political sources said.

Two Americans were killed, the U.S. military said, when an attack helicopter went down during the day-long battle in what was one of the strangest incidents of the four-year conflict. Iraqi officials said the helicopter seemed to be shot down.

According to one Iraqi political source, hundreds of fighters drawn from both Sunni and Shi'ite communities were still fighting. A Reuters reporter at the scene, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, saw U.S. tanks and heard blasts after dark and an Iraqi officer said F-16 jets were bombing the area.

...

But political and security sources said they were followers of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni and described him as an apocalyptic cult leader claiming to be the vanguard of the Mahdi -- a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice. He had been operating from an office in Najaf until it was raided and closed down about 10 days ago.

Yahoos

and virtually none of it was true...

[Zodiak]

5. It never is

and that is the sad fact. Anything coming from our military concerning these "majpr events" has been a lie. Every single story.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Remember that Iraqi police called on US military support against "Al-Qaeda"

Yell "Al-Qaeda" and the mighty morphing US troop rangers will come rushing in with maximum firepower to get rid of your tribal rivals. This sort of thing happened quite frequently in Afghanistan.

On edit: Last week I posted a story from The Independent in LBN that debunked the official version. Other DUers cited other sources that also debunked the official version. The story of a never-heard-of Messianic cult that wanted to kidnap and kill top Shia cleric Sistani sounded phony on its face.