Posted on 12/30/2004 2:24:09 PM PST by Tarpaulin
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three militant groups warned Iraqis against voting in Jan. 30 elections, saying Thursday that people participating in the "dirty farce" risked attack. All 700 employees of the electoral commission in Mosul reportedly resigned after being threatened.
The warning came a day after insurgents in Mosul, which has seen increased violence in recent weeks, launched a highly coordinated assault on a U.S. military outpost. The United States said 25 insurgents were believed slain and one American soldier was killed in the battle, which involved strafing runs by U.S. warplanes.
The United States, which has said the vote must go forward, has repeatedly sought to portray recent attacks that have killed dozens of people as the acts of a reeling insurgency, not the work of a force that is gathering strength.
The radical Ansar al-Sunnah Army and two other insurgent groups issued a statement Thursday warning that democracy was un-Islamic. Democracy could lead to passing un-Islamic laws, such as permitting homosexual marriage, if the majority or people agreed to it, the statement said.
"Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit," the statement said. "This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God — Muslims' doctrine."
Ansar al-Sunnah earlier posted a manifesto on its Web site saying democracy amounts to idolizing human beings. Thursday's joint statement reiterated the threat that "anyone who accepts to take part in this dirty farce will not be safe."
Insurgents have intensified their strikes against the security forces of Iraq (news - web sites)'s U.S.-installed interim government as part of a continuing campaign to disrupt the elections for a constitutional assembly.
The statements by the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgent groups seemed aimed at countering Shiite leaders' claims that voting in the election is every Muslim's duty. Shiites, who make up 60 percent of the population, hope to use the vote to power from minority Sunnis, who were favored under Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Iraqis will elect a national assembly that is to write a new constitution.
The Al-Jazeera satellite channel reported that all 700 workers for the electoral commission in Mosul resigned Thursday because they had been threatened and that Iraq's leading Sunni political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, had withdrawn from the race.
If true, the move will severely hamper efforts to prepare for the vote in Mosul, which has been too dangerous for most work to even begin though the vote is now only a month away.
Farid Ayar, spokesman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, could not confirm the Al-Jazeera report.
"We have been trying to contact our people in Mosul to see if the report is accurate but we have not been able to reach them," Ayar told The Associated Press.
Wednesday's attack in the northern city of Mosul exhibited a coordination rarely seen among Iraq's insurgents. The violence began with a massive truck bomb exploding just outside a U.S. checkpoint, followed by attacks by squads of 10-12 insurgents.
A Stryker vehicle reinforcing the Americans was hit by a roadside bomb and a second car bomb. U.S. forces then called in airstrikes by F-18 and F-16 fighter jets, which launched three Maverick missiles and conducted several strafing runs.
U.S. officials called the attack a sign of desperation ahead of the vote.
"The fact of the matter is we're keeping the insurgents off balance and they're reeling backward. They're trying to come at us and we're giving it right back," spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Hastings said.
"The terrorists are growing more desperate in their attempts to derail the elections and they're trying to put it all on the line and give it all they can."
Still, Iraq's third-largest city has become more worrisome in the weeks since a U.S.-led invasion routed insurgents from their base in the Sunni-dominated city of Fallujah in mid-November.
Across Iraq, dozens of insurgents, Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed in attacks over the last 48 hours, and the guerrillas have shown new ingenuity to inflict large casualties.
Fourteen U.S. soldiers died Dec. 21 when a suicide bomber walked into a mess tent in Mosul packed with soldiers having lunch. In all, 22 people were killed and dozens wounded in the blast. The Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility.
Late Tuesday, insurgents lured police into a house in Baghdad after issuing an anonymous tip and then detonated nearly a ton of explosives. Twenty-nine people were killed, including 22 civilians and seven police, and several surrounding houses were leveled.
Mohammed Salah, a Cairo, Egypt-based expert on Islamic militancy, suggested that insurgents may be experimenting with new tactics to test the Americans after the guerrillas lost their stronghold in Fallujah, west of Baghdad. Up to now, their chief weapons have been roadside bombs and suicide attacks.
"Since they are always pursued, they try to be creative," Salah said. "They have to be creative because they know repetitiveness is dangerous for them."
There was no claim of responsibility for the latest Mosul attack, but it followed a Wednesday warning from Ansar al-Sunnah that Iraqis should stay away from U.S. and Iraqi military installations.
Humph.
So now Mosul, instead of Fallujah speaks for all of Iraq? Hmm, I doubt it
Just to get the point across we can play nasty, that would probably get the attention of the pay masters.
Of course we don't have that capability cause we can't put a shuttle up.
But we need to really get the paymasters attention, and currently we haven't really left the boat.
When Catholics first started voting in Ireland, they risked catastrophe. The risk was every bit as grave as Iraqis face today.
In Berlin, during the airlift, Berliners in the Soviet Sector risked catastrophe every time they needed some sort of vote in favor of the allies. The risk was every bit as grave as the Iraqis face today.
The Chinese in Tiennamen Square who demanded freedom faced catastrophe. The risk was as grave as any facing Iraqis today. The same will be true soon on Formosa.
Such was true for Poles at the time of Solidarity and French Resistance Fighters in the early 1940's. It was true at the Alamo and Goliad nearly two centuries ago and in Chile but a generation ago.
This litany can go on as long as we like. So it begs the question. Are Arabs prepared to pay the required price for Freedom? Some people think Arabs aren't sufficiently evolved to handle such a concept as freedom. Are they right? Has anyone asked this question of the Iraqis? How about asking those on the Iraqi election commission that reportedly resigned?
Across Iraq, dozens of insurgents, Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed in attacks over the last 48 hours, and the guerrillas have shown new ingenuity to inflict large casualties.
Late Tuesday, insurgents lured police into a house in Baghdad after issuing an anonymous tip and then detonated nearly a ton of explosives. Twenty-nine people were killed, including 22 civilians and seven police, and several surrounding houses were leveled.
What a bunch of useless people, jeez, seriously if i am an iraqi cop i ain't sure as hell surrendering, i'm firing until i run out of flippin bullets, secondly what the hell is wrong with the Iraqi people, are they just so stupid, i mean they can't claim they didn't see these people put bombs in the building, this is ridiculous.
Love how the reporter cites a "highly-coordinated" attack by insurgents in which a single U.S. troop was killed.
With 25 insurgents dead, it seems to me that the response was what was "highly-coordinated." =/
The radical Ansar al-Sunnah Army and two other insurgent groups issued a statement Thursday warning that democracy was un-Islamic. Democracy could lead to passing un-Islamic laws, such as permitting homosexual marriage, if the majority or people agreed to it, the statement said."Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit," the statement said. "This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God — Muslims' doctrine."
Leaving the homosexual marriage issue aside (those guys don't want to have to marry their catamites), it's always helpful when your enemy goes to the trouble of clarifying why he's your enemy.
Not really....I can understand where the Iraqi people's mindset is.
For 35 plus years Saddam and his people beat those people into submission.....those who didnt cower.....wound up in mass graves. Families were asked to rat on other family members to the party. You must realize that the terrorists are living amongst these people and know who is talking to us and the Iraqi security forces.
As a result of Saddam's ethnic cleansing policies, Mosul is a Sunni enclave within Kurdish territory.
The Sunni jihadi election threats will result in very low turn outs in Sunni areas and high turn outs in Kurdish and Shiite areas resulting in a massive transfer of political power from Sunnis to those they formerly tormented.
The new Iraqi Government will then have an extremely compelling reason to exterminate the Sunni troublemakers with extreme prejudice.
The coming years will be Hell for the Sunnis.
If the Sunni's boycott the election and Shiites win say for eg. 80% of the seats, either the election will be invalidated or there will be civil war IMO.
Militants Say Democracy Is 'un-Islamic,' Warn Iraqis Not to Participate in Jan. 30 Vote
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBJD84AE3E.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.