Lockdown in Iraq

Conservative Thoughts ^ | February 24, 2006 | John Kuethe

[Wrangler22]

In the wake of violence that has killed nearly 130 people since the bombing of one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines a daytime curfew has been enacted by the Iraqi government. The fledgling government is facing its first major crisis and the world is watching to see how the situation will develop.

The bombing of the Mosque of the Golden Dome in Samarra was a devastating blow to a country deeply divided across sectarian lines: Sunni and Shiite. The destruction of this mosque has an enormous impact on the Shiite community. While I am no expert on Islam, it is my understanding within the Mosque laid the remains of the 10th and 11th Imams. It was one of the holiest of places to the Shiites.

As the mosque was located in a primarily Sunni are of Iraq, the attack was clearly aimed at creating a rift between the two sects of Islam. Al-Zarqawi and Al Qaida are leading suspects and their motive is clear. Iraqi civil war is their latest attempt to derail the development of a Democratic Iraq, a free society with a government with representatives from all three major ethnic groups: Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd. Religious leaders summoned Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis to joint prayer services Friday.

In southern Iraq, and area that is heavily populated by Shiite Muslims, more than 10,000 people congregated at

[Wrangler22]

Curfew Extended, violent surge stemmed.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185903,00.html