Americans bow before holy shrine to deter protesters [Yesterday at Najaf, Iraq]

UK Telegragh ^ | April 4, 2003

[george wythe]

American soldiers retreated warily from the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf yesterday after a furious crowd gathered around them to stop foreign soldiers from approaching one of the holiest shrines of Shia Islam.

"Everybody smile!" shouted the platoon commander as he told his baffled men to kneel down and point their weapons at the ground, in a surreal act of submission.

The mightiest army in the world is learning the hard way the awkward art of trying to "win the hearts and minds" of suspicious civilians.

In other cities civilians have largely been bystanders in the military drama, neither rising up to cheer nor uniting to resist.

But in Najaf, hundreds poured into the streets to block the way of American soldiers as they came within sight of the golden dome of the mosque. They waved the soldiers away as some explained in broken English: "In the city, OK. In the mosque, No!"

The mosque is the reputed burial place of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam and the first Imam of Shia Islam.

It was damaged by Iraqi forces during the Shi'ite uprising against Saddam Hussein at the end of the 1991 Gulf war. But despite any hatred Najaf's people may harbour for Saddam, they seem resolutely opposed to having "infidel" soldiers violating the holy ground.

Nevertheless, the city's religious authorities seem to be reaching an accommodation with the occupying forces.

According to a US commander in the Gulf, Brig-Gen Vincent Brooks, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric in Najaf has issued a religious edict urging Iraqis to remain calm and not to hinder American forces.

Across Najaf, American forces searched buildings for Fedayeen paramilitary fighters loyal to Saddam.

US officers said most of the Fedayeen forces had simply dropped their equipment and fled, but some were still putting up a fight.

[honeygrl]

"Too much sensitivity training crap. This man just reached the end of his career path. American servicemen in uniform are expressly forbidden to bow or kneel"

Guess it would've been better to let the crowd of people kill some of his soldiers just to avoid looking sensitive to their religion.

[discostu]

But how do you tell 1000+ people that don't speak your language (or vice versa) that you're not going to do what they don't want you to do without turning your back and giving them the element of suprise if it doesn't work? How about: smile, backup, lower your weapon, and take a knee. They didn't bow, the headline is a lie, they took a knee. Bowing includes bending the back and looking at the ground presenting the other guy with the back of your head, which would have been stupid (might as well turn around and walk away then, at least everybody is still standing) and isn't what happened.

[bvw]

I suspect the reality is 180 degrees from that opinion. This was a bad way to defuze. May produce some bad stuff in future.

[WaterDragon]

The officer made the decision he thought best, and it probably was the best one. But our military cannot make a habit of this sort of gesture. If we have learned nothing else we know that yielding to displays of Muslim intimidation incites them to violence against us. We are winning the war in Iraq. We have to be careful the peace does not undo the fear and respect we've earned with the blood of Americans. Machiavelli said it is better to be feared than to be loved. That is still true.

[bvw]

It sure looked to me like they knelt and bowed. The commander did bow.

[discostu]

Well next time you're outnumbered a couple hundred to one by an angry mob with a camera behind you who'd love to get the scoop of Americans slaughtering innocent civilians (or being torn to pieces by them), then you can do things your way. As it is they did the right thing and anybody that thinks otherwise is just plain wrong.

[SENTINEL]

The officer should have had his troops take a knee and then said to the crowd through his interpreter something like this.

"We are here to kill or take prisoner members of the Baath party, and Saddam's soldiers. We undertsand and respect your desire for us to not enter your mosque, and therefore will grant you exactly 24 hours to remove Saddam's soldiers from the mosque yourselves. Here are some captured small arms for your use. We will be back in force when we return."

[Saundra Duffy]

I think this commander and his troops showing the Iraqis respect and for their holy shrine did more to cement our "goodwill" towards the Iraqi citizens than any food or water ever can. Too bad Al Jazeera won't show the Arabs of the world this side of us.

Right on.

[hchutch]

Too bad the folks who redirected al-Jazeera's site are right now trying to stay ahead of the FBI.

Their services would be VERY useful right now...

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Well, there was footage of the event and it did look like the clerics were doing just that, ie, helping to calm the crowd as mediators. It looks like CentCom will probably put together a platoon of muslim troops to go in there, betting dollars to donuts.

[kstewskis]

The American military is the greatest in the world, not just in brute force or high-tech superiority, but also in human sagacity and wisdom.

Very true. Unlike the muslim militia pigs who literally desecrated The Church of the Nativity in Israel some time ago during that stand off...

but they'd just assume forget about that.

[TIGHTEN]

Yeah, I saw that too. I was just wondering about the cleric Sistani who issued the fatwa and our news agencies were making a big deal about it (which of course it would be). Then I heard Al-Sleazeera said it wasn't true.

[bvw]

Well, I'll take a mulligan on my comments, please. I am most definitely wrong to have second guessed the commander -- he did defuze a riot without blooshed, and such immediate effect takes complete precedence over any longer term risks. My most humble apologies! I was wrong - some circumstances in my own life since that last post have made that evident to me, thank G-d!

[mathurine]

That is the stupidest and vilest post I have ever seen. This is a war, dork. Nasty message follows if necessary. Grow up if you can!

[bvw]

After consideration I humbly withdraw my prior comment on your comment.

[willyboyishere]

You're 100% right---I saw footage of this incident and the soldiers looked baffled, and the entire situation looked like it wouldn't take much for it to get totally out of hand. The soldiers started stepping backwards, "retreating", in confusion, but none of them let their emotions get the better of them. To learn now that their commander had them prostrate themselves out of respect has an odd kind of beauty, and a shrewdness of anticipated effect that is
extraordinarily restrained and mature. "A small price to pay...." as the saying has it.

[Polybius]

...despite any hatred Najaf's people may harbour for Saddam, they seem resolutely opposed to having "infidel" soldiers violating the holy ground.

Try going to a Mormon Temple and asking to set foot inside the Temple.

Try going to a Catholic Church, telling the priest you are not Catholic and asking his permission to partake in Catholic Communion.

All religions have their rules.

[spectre]

bvw, I saw the entire video and yes, when the Commander withdrew his troops, he bowed to the people with his hands extended as if "in prayer".

Looking at the whole situation, the mob was so angry, if he hadn't calmed them down, they most likely would have caused our troops to fire on them in self-defense.

Don't be so darn hard on yourself, bvw. It was an unusual and difficult situation, and could have ended differently.

sw

[george wythe]

Thank you for your clarifying comments on this article.

I did not see this on TV, so I was very glad to read your cogent explanation for the platoon commander's actions.

The article and the headline could have been more accurate, but thank God for the Freepers who can tell the whole story.

[Happy2BMe]

"...despite any hatred Najaf's people may harbour for Saddam, they seem resolutely opposed to having "infidel" soldiers violating the holy ground."

Islam teaches that an attack on one Islamic nation is an attack on ALL Islamic nations.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Turkey ALL view Iraq as being predominently an Islamic nation.

Osama bin Ladin used this Islamic code to marshall Muslim jihad support throughout the Middle Eastern Islamic countries.

This war will further fan the flames of Islamic jihad against Britian and the United States - for the far foreseeable future, and regardless of the outcome of national reform or whatever type of government replaces the Saddam regime in Iraq.

Islam views this as a holy war. We view it as a war with political implications necessary to bring about social change (e.g., don't jihad N.Y.C. anymore, O.K.!).

The two opposing views between Islam and the West will not be reconciled by ANYTHING the coalition offers the Iraqis (food, new commerce, reinvented economy, even freedom from torturous tyrants such as Saddam and his henchmen).