Posted on 04/10/2005 6:35:01 AM PDT by nuconvert
Protests Mark Fall of Baghdad
April 10, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Tens of thousands of Shiites (search) marked the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad (search) with a protest against the American military presence at the square where Iraqis and U.S. troops toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago.
The protesters back Muqtada al-Sadr (search), a radical Shiite cleric whose militia led uprisings against U.S. troops last year, and their large numbers reflected frustration both with the U.S. government (search) and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency.
"This huge gathering shows that the Iraqi people have the strength and faith to protect their country and liberate it from the occupiers," said Ahmed Abed, a 26-year-old who sells spare car parts.
U.S. officials, who are slowly handing security to Iraqi forces, have refused to set a timetable for withdrawal, saying the troops will stay until Iraqi forces are able to secure the country.
The protesters filled Firdos Square (search) and spilled onto nearby avenues, waving Iraqi flags. Mimicking the famous images of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam as Baghdad fell, protesters toppled effigies of President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Saddam — all dressed like Iraqi prisoners in red jumpsuits. Other effigies of Bush and Saddam were burned.
"Force the occupation to leave from our country," one banner read in English.
The Shiite protesters also called for the now-jailed Saddam to face justice, and they held up framed photos of al-Sadr's father, a prominent cleric executed by Saddam. Mahdi Army (search) militiamen searched people entering the demonstration area as Iraqi policemen stood to the side.
Al-Sadr officials said the cleric did not attend the protest because of security concerns. He has largely stayed close to his home
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I seriuosly wonder if the Iraqis realize the national treasure(US TROOPS) we have sacrificed to get them to the point they can protest in the streets.
The arab mind will not allow them to see the truth of their situation. They will say if they have freedom it was from Allah, not the U.S. military. As you can see,though, the Kurds are the ones who have their act together and are really going to come out on top in the end of all of this. They are the ones who really have deserved our efforts.
They understand, and they do not care.
I am really sick & tired of Fox lately. These reporters sitting pretty in their hotel rooms & spinning the always negative Associated Dippressed stories as truth, while the real truth is lying elsewhere.
They understand, and they do not care.
I am sorry, since I can not get Fox where I am I do not understand what you mean.
More like a few thousand Iranians, IMO. And the subhuman filth from that fat punk, el-what's-his-name.
Where were these stalwarts two years ago when the heavy lifting of liberating their country was going on? How many similar demonstrations did they put on when Saddam whatshisname was running things?
These are alSadr followers, with a few thousand Iranians shipped in, I'd guess.
Yup
That really says it all. These people don't represent the view of the majority of Iraqis. But if they are going to have a free and democratic society, protests like this go with it. Isn't it wonderful to have the freedom to be ungrateful?
yes, freedom let's idiots reveal themselves. Heck, we probably have more anti-American idiots in this country. If you real the Iraqi blogs you will see that most of them are quite grateful and understand clearly that America brought them freedom. I wouldn't let a bunch of Sadr thugs and Iranian imports upset you.
This is the best Iraqi blog. These guys even met President Bush. http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/ scroll down and real the April 9th anniversay posting. These guys get it.
Yes, I'm familiar with it. It's very good.
Thanx
I noticed Fox's left turn over these months. Sad and pathetic. Many of their reporters are spineless. The are afraid to take risks and do the real reporting. Many of them are lazy.
FOX actually had a good analysis of this earlier on the air.
Al-Sadr caled for a million protestors. Sunni clericss also called for demonstrations. Only a few thousand showed up.
FOX was saying Al-Sadr really has no power, his following is waning, and this is nothing more than an attempt to cause unrest.
He was protesting Saddam and Bush at the same time (huh? no conflict there). He doesn't have the religious training needed to advance far as a cleric. He's getting only token gestures in the new government. His mini-insurgency waffled and gave in. The man is just not a great leader, and is just mad that Bush avenged his father's death while he was unable to. He realizes he will not live up to his father's image. This is a desperate, defeated man.
Compared to the millions who turned out to vote this was a non-event.
Even the request for troop withdrawl was clearly not an immediate request
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_050409022440
Sheik Hassan al-Edhari, an official at al-Sadr's Baghdad office, said al-Sadr's mainly Shiite followers want the new Iraqi government to set a schedule for pulling out foreign troops and for putting Saddam on trial.
"We demand that the occupation troops withdraw from Iraq. We don't want them to do it immediately, but we want them to set a timetable for their withdrawal," said Sheik Harith al-Dahri, whose Association of Muslim Scholars is believed to have ties to Iraq's insurgents.
IRAQ THE MODEL
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/2005/04/eid-of-liberty.html
Saturday, April 09, 2005
The Eid of Liberty
I don't think I need to tell you how close is the 9th of April to my heart. And now, after two years happiness is still the same for me; one person among millions who were freed on that great day.
The 9th of April had turned one of the darkest pages in our history and opened the door wide before the people and their dreams, just as when the idol was knocked down, fear and oppression were knocked down as well.
No day matches you, my brightest day. We will keep reaping your fruits while the entire neighborhood follow your light and wait for other days like you to sweep away the remaining rotten idols.
The 9th of April has proven that the free world now has the guts and the required determination to make the change and throw the legacy of the past century behind its back; dictators shall be endorsed no more and the struggle will continue until humanity is freed from its dark nightmare that lasted way longer than it should have.
The winds of change that have blown away the tyrant in Iraq have begun to reach more and more people everyday and the heroic stand of Iraqis is inspiring freedom lovers in Beirut and Cairo, Kuwait and Bahrain, Arabia and Damascus; people are screaming enough is enough; enough for tyranny, enough for repression and enough for slavery.
Some naysayers and losers will say that terror had marked the past two years in Iraq but we the Iraqis believe that terrorism is merely the defeated remnants of evil fed by the other tyrants who got terrified from the fall of their demonic master. They're holding onto a weak thread that will soon be broken no matter how hard they try.
Today we can see the idol of terror shaking and losing balance from the powerful strike Iraqis had given it on the glorious election day; the day when the world stood amazed before the extraordinary bravery of Iraqis defying fear and walking through bullets and bombs to say their word and give terror the purple finger.
The 9th of April paved the way for that historic revolution and I think this is more than enough to make us keep this day in our hearts forever.
We have passed the cruel tests of terror, we went to cast our ballots and we're rebuilding what was destroyed and we're looking forward to building more and more but most important is that we're going to write our holy book, our constitution, by ourselves to preserve our freedom and stop tyranny from invading our land again.
After decades of isolation enforced by Saddam on Iraq, today Iraqis come back to join the free world and catch up with what they had missed; slowly but surely.
Some shortsighted people doubt the outcome of this day and think that it's not suitable to announce it a success but we say to them:
You're free to think whatever you like, we got on the train, but you’re standing still.
I will save the effort of explaining to them what they missed because several years from now when Iraq becomes a beacon of civilization in the region you will find out the truth solid and clear but unfortunately I'm positive that they won't admit it and they will try to find another funeral to practice the only hobby they're good at; whining and weeping.
So today we're offering a last chance to choose between joining the real world and joining Muqtada and Harith Al-Dhari.
Go and chant with them, condemn democracy and march against freedom if you like but don't forget that those thugs represent no one but themselves. They rejected democracy from the beginning and missed the chance of joining the greatest election of our time.
And don't forget that millions of Iraqis had also rejected those fanatics when the people marched to the boxes ignoring the threats and "fatwas"
Those who really represent me and my people are the men and women we voted for and put our trust in; men like Ibrahim Al-Jafari and Jalal Talbani who are grateful for the nations that helped Iraq in the darkest times and freed its people when our "brothers" ignored us and silently watched the Ba'ath murder and torture our people and more worse, gave the Ba'ath a hand more than once.
These are the people who represent us now; they promise us freedom and prosperity and I intend to trust them and believe them as long as they prove to be honest to us but I will never listen to those who want to bring back the rule of the dark ages.
Finally, I would like to say it again and say it loud:
Thank you our liberators.
Mohammed.
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