Posted on 02/25/2005 2:53:11 PM PST by jmc1969
BAGHDAD, Iraq (news - web sites) - Shiite Muslim assassins are killing former members of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s mostly Sunni Muslim regime at will and with impunity in a parallel conflict that some observers fear could snowball into civil war.
The war between Shiite vigilantes and former Baath Party members is seldom investigated and largely overshadowed by the mostly Sunni insurgency. The U.S. military is preoccupied with hunting down suicide bombers and foreign terrorists, and Iraq's new Shiite leaders have little interest in prosecuting those who kill their former oppressors or their enemies in the insurgency.
The killings have intensified since January's Shiite electoral victory, and U.S. and Iraqi officials worry that they could imperil progress toward a unified, democratic Iraq.
"It's the beginning, and we could go down the slippery slope very quickly," said Sabah Kadhim, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "We've been so concerned with removing terrorists and Islamists that this other situation has reared its ugly head. Both sides are sharpening their knives."
Since the Jan. 30 elections, Shiite militants have stepped up their campaign to exact street justice from men who were part of the regime that oppressed and massacred members of their sect for decades. While Shiite politicians turn a blind eye, assassins are working their way through a hit list of Saddam's former security and intelligence personnel, according to Iraqi authorities, Sunni politicians and interviews with the families of those who've been targeted.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Can you say, "Los Pepes"?
Yep.
Feared? Try "hoped". It'll save us a lot of time and money hunting these guys down, imprisoning them, giving them a fair trial (which they don't deserve), and executing their punishment. The only civil war in Iraq I fear is one between the Kurds and the Shiites, something that doesn't appear too likely at the moment. Anyone who wants to kick the Sunni's butts is welcome to, in my book. The payback needs to be severe enough to permanently discourage the Sunnis from their jihadist/totalitarian activities. If there's not a Sunni left in Iraq, I won't shed a tear.
Payback is a female canine, ain't it?
This is great and necessary. Who do you think makes up the ranks of the "insurgents".
Huh? Sounds like a UN problem to me...let's have Kofi and his buddies get right on this ok? After all, it's not as though they're putting panties over someone's head or anything right? (slight sarcasm here)...
Sounds good to me, since it doesn't seem to be indiscriminate.
Even Yahoo couldn't entirely bury the qualifier.
I think they are talking about the villagers who shot the shiite out of the Sunnis that came to punish them for voting a couple weeks ago, among others. Maybe also the ones who badly roughed up the car bomber they caught in the act & kept from exploding. This is a GOOD thing, IM(not-so)HO
They always seem to skip that middle thingy.
Payback is a beiotch.
Sort of reminds me of Lincoln's use of the phrase, "the better angels of our nature"... but then again, I don't think the Muslims believe in angels...just virgins they'll never meet here on earth...
If the revenge attacks would happen even if the Sunnis weren't being terrorists, they would be bad (because it would encourage Sunnis to become terrorists)
"Just make sure not to kill any innocents in it and I don't see a problem......these guys are the ones using IED's and the like anyway "
Exactly. Sounds like the true "Iraqi resistance" is being heard from at last.
It was bound to happen. The shiites feel safe enough to punish Saddams followers now. It'll go on for some time I'm sure.
Thing is, the shiites are just as monsterous, or moreso, than the sunnis.
This is just evil killing evil.
There's no upside to this at all. Neither shiite or sunni is any 'friend' to the civilized world in any possible way.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
Let's see.....
We've got Islamic murderer, murdering Islamic murderer..
And the down side is?
I'd rather they practiced their murderous disposition on each other -- rather than on INNOCENT bystanders...
Perhaps after they have bled each other white - they will be ready to build a civilized society...
Semper Fi
Me too. I only hope that they don't plug in the plastic shredder and limit their revenge killings to deserving men who were known to participate in the apartheid during Saddam's regime.
BTW, that must mean that all the photos we see of guyz arrested and in plastic handcuffs are dealt with extreme prejudice...if you know what I mean.
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