Posted on 06/13/2014 9:32:33 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Baghdad, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's most senior Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged followers to take up arms against a full-blown Sunni militant insurgency to topple Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, escalating a conflict that threatens civil war and a possible break-up of the country.
In a rare intervention at Friday prayers in the holy city of Kerbala, a message from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is the highest religious authority for Shi'ites in Iraq, said people should unite to fight back against a lightning advance by militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Fighters under the black flag of ISIL are sweeping south towards the capital Baghdad in a campaign to recreate a mediaeval caliphate carved out of fragmenting Iraq and Syria that has turned into a widespread rebellion against Maliki.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
There are thousands of Americans in Iraq. A freeper has reported his only child is there. Obama could care less about these people. Yes, if this was the Iran/Iraq war, I would agree. Lets get those Americans out of there safely, then we can let them fight it out. But if it is a repeat of the old Iran/Iraq war, there will be numerous chemical and biological weapons used.
It is not just about ISIL. It is about the formation of a Sunni Caliphate. Many Sunni’s in Baghdad will join up and are probably sabotaging the cities defenses as we sit here and type. Their forces grow larger by the minute.
Iraq is 2/3 shiite, and Baghdad is the approximate border. Shiites will make a stand and I would bet ISIS knows it and won’t enter that buzz-saw.
There is no doubt there will be sectarian civil war which the USA until 2011, had prevented. And it WILL be ugly.
I actually could wind up benefiting Israel, as all their enemies will be occupied in killing each other.
ISIL has prepared numerous suicide bombers that they will use on Baghdad.
You mean ISIS. And it doesn't matter. Shiites outnumber them the further south they go, and Shiites have their own militias. ISIS picked the low-hanging fruit in Mosul and Tikrit. At this point, they are too small and out-gunned by the shiite militias, who can be just as brutal, to even consider taking Baghdad.
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.