That was my first thought -- is this the same Mosque in which 150 of Iraq's "battle-hardened troops" are hiding in order to save their worthless hides?
That was my first thought -- is this the same Mosque in which 150 of Iraq's "battle-hardened troops" are hiding in order to save their worthless hides?
Actually, the Shiite's and several other Muslin Clerics outside of Iraq were very unhappy with the soldiers using the mosque. This tactic did not play well with the Muslim world. The Shiite's, whose Mosque that was, have been oppressed by the Sunni's who were the ones doing the shooting.
In watching the video you can see another dynamic at play. Apparently the commander had a meeting set up with the Ayatollah who presides at the mosque. Most of the crowd was unaware of this. You can see some Arabs helping the soldiers by trying to hold back the mob. Rather than further anger the mob who didn't have the facts it was better to back away in a fashion that supporrted the arabs that were helping. Very probably, the Arabs helping knew about the meeting.
By backing off we build a stronger bond with the group that has been an oppressed minority. Further, we do nothing that would put the Ayatollah in a difficult position. Imagine if we had insisted on attending the meeting and started a riot in which we had to open fire to protect ourselves. This would have left the Ayatollah without much ground to offer support.
Since the Shiite's are the majority and have been oppressed we can expect to see a complete power shift away form the Sunnis. If we are going to have friendly relations with the new government it will be best to be on friendly terms with the Shiite leaders. Imagine what an incredible ally the Ayatollah of the new ruling class would be for creating longterm relationships with Iraq.
I think this commander made a difficult decision that was brilliant in the understanding it showed for the longterm interests of the United States. Truly an American hero exhibiting the very best of American initiative.
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.
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).