Posted on 08/09/2005 7:44:59 PM PDT by Crackingham
Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia. The deposed mayor, Alaa al-Tamimi, who was not in his offices at the time, recounted the events in a telephone interview on Tuesday and called the move a municipal coup d'état. He added that he had gone into hiding for fear of his life.
"This is the new Iraq," said Mr. Tamimi, a secular engineer with no party affiliation. "They use force to achieve their goal."
The group that ousted him insisted that it had the authority to assume control of Iraq's capital city and that Mr. Tamimi was in no danger. The man the group installed, Hussein al-Tahaan, is a member of the Badr Organization, the armed militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri.
The militia has been credited with keeping the peace in heavily Shiite areas in southern Iraq but also accused of abuses like forcing women to wear the veils demanded by conservative Shiite religious law.
"If we wanted to do something bad to him, we would have done that," said Mazen A. Makkia, the elected city council chief who led the ouster on Monday and who had been in a lengthy and unresolved legal feud with Mr. Tamimi.
"We really want to establish the state of law for every citizen, and we did not threaten anyone," Mr. Makkia said. "This is not a coup."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Their reign will be brief. And hopefully publically punished.
Gauranteed this guy is a friend of Mookie Sadr. He won't be there long.
Ah... If I were an evil genius, I would've encourged these guys to do this, so I could publicly go after them, punish them, and establish the authority of my government.
Then again, I'm not an evil genius, and I'm not representative of a duly elected and recognized government or agency... ;-)
Something tells me when the Marines show up in a few minutes that the dust storm will pale in comparison to the death wish these renegades just invited upon themselves.
When I left in 1995, every day, it is years for me," Mr. Tamimi said. "But now when I leave I don't think I will be sorry. I leave because I cannot live in such conditions."
Guess he doesn't want to be on the new Tourism Board either.
More on Dr. Tamimi from a good Christopher Hitchens article yesterday......
"The New York Times ran a fascinating report (subscription only), under the byline of James Glanz, on July 8. It was a profile of Dr. Alaa Tamimi, the mayor of Baghdad, whose position it would be a gross understatement to describe as "embattled." Dr. Tamimi is a civil engineer and convinced secularist who gave up a prosperous exile in Canada to come home and help rebuild his country. He is one among millions who could emerge if it were not for the endless, pitiless torture to which the city is subjected by violent religious fascists. He is quoted as being full of ideas, of a somewhat Giuliani-like character, about zoning enforcement, garbage recycling, and zero tolerance for broken windows. If this doesn't seem quixotic enough in today's gruesome circumstances, he also has to confront religious parties on the city council and an inept central government that won't give him a serious budget.
Question: Why have several large American cities not already announced that they are going to become sister cities with Baghdad and help raise money and awareness to aid Dr. Tamimi? When I put this question to a number of serious anti-war friends, their answer was to the effect that it's the job of the administration to allocate the money, so that there's little room or need for civic action."
http://slate.msn.com/id/2124157/
Ohoh.. this is bad.
Damn extremist.
Now. I wonder why I think this is all pure bullshit.
Because it comes from the NY Times?
Denying that he entered the offices by force, Tahhan said he had made a routine arrangement to meet the mayor's staff.
"I was greeted at the door by the Deputy Mayor Amir al- Su'aidi. He led me in person to the office and I told my guards to stay outside," he told Reuters.
See:
>"We really want to establish the state of law for every citizen, and we did not threaten anyone," Mr. Makkia said.<
Sure you don't. Yep, that's the way civilized people change their government officials all over the world.
"Because it comes from the NY Times?"
It seems like as of 11:23PM EST. They are the only ones carrying this piece of news. When I see it broadcasted by a number of major feeds. I will believe it.
Looks like Reuters is also carrying it now. Perhaps I knee jerked on this one.
Reuters' story is a bit different though.
"Reuters' story is a bit different though."
Hmm. Like it was not a armed take over. Think I will re-read it. Thanks.
Shiite Warlords, meet Delta Team and Seal Team Six. Or they are busy, a few Marines will get the job done, maybe in a bit more messy fashion, but done.
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