Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/20/2003 5:17:07 PM PDT by MadIvan
THE United States faced a renewed challenge to its interim authority in Iraq last night after a leading member of the exiled Iraqi National Congress appointed himself mayor of Baghdad.
Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi, a leading Muslim cleric who returned to Iraq last week after almost 20 years of exile in Paris and Tehran, presented a direct challenge to US forces by announcing the establishment of an interim administration to govern the Iraqi capital.
Speaking at a rally in central Baghdad, Mr al-Zubaidi, the deputy leader of the US-backed Iraqi National Congress, also designated his own chief of police and appointed a number of officials to oversee control of electricity and water supplies to Baghdad. His move came days after he led more than 200 protesters in opposition of the continued US presence in the Iraqi capital.
The long-time Iraqi exile proclaimed himself in charge of Baghdad, pledging that the country’s new constitution would be derived from Islamic law and promising to try anyone whose "hands are stained with the blood of the Iraqi people".
In an impassioned speech to a large crowd in the city centre, Mr al-Zubaidi also announced plans to get Baghdad’s civil administration moving again.
He said: "We have met with lawmen to create laws and to open the courts so that life can begin to take on legitimacy.
"The security situation in Baghdad is considered first priority in our agenda."
He added: "I have been chosen as mayor not by America, but legitimately by tribal leaders and educated people, the doctors of the city and other prominent figures. We are not a transitional government. We are an executive committee to run Baghdad."
In further opposition to the US, Mr al-Zubaidi claimed that Iraq’s new constitution would be based on Islamic law and not the democratic model of government insisted by the State Department.
He added that 22 committees had been formed to administer Baghdad and leaders of these had been appointed. He also urged workers in Iraq’s ministries to return to the workplace, claiming enough funds remained in government coffers to pay civil servants’ salaries.
Baghdad currently has no government. US forces, together with returning Iraqi police officers, are keeping the peace in the city until the establishment of an interim civil authority, expected to be led by an American, General Jay Garner.
The Pentagon refused to offer backing for the Iraqi National Congress, claiming the creation of an interim authority was already in progress without Mr al-Zubaidi as a fixture.
As looting in Baghdad began to subside, stores were opened across the city while residents began sweeping up debris and cleaning their homes. In a further bid to impose order in the city, the coalition-run Information Radio station announced last night that an 11pm to 6am curfew would be imposed in Baghdad for the next fortnight.
In other parts of the city, thousands of Christians crammed into the smattering of churches across the capital to celebrate Easter, praying for peace and harmony after 24 years of Saddam Hussein’s rule.
The mood was sombre in Baghdad’s churches which, like the mosques, have been spared the looting that has wrecked parts of the capital.
"We are just praying that the situation stabilises. That is the most important thing for this country," said Firas Showkal, at the Lady of Our Salvation Catholic church.
In the city centre, as aid convoys for the Iraqi people arrived from Jordan, food donated by the Kuwait government and transported by coalition forces was also delivered to the starving animals in the zoo.
The aid, including a two-week supply of fruits, vegetables and meat, and a one-month supply of dry feed, was handed out to the animals by US troops.
The Kuwait Zoo and Kuwait’s ministry for agricultural affairs and fisheries have also offered to provide veterinary and agricultural support.
Despite the troubled political atmosphere, US marines continued to pull out of Baghdad last night, leaving the job of maintaining order in the hands of US soldiers, who have already deployed the help of the newly-resurgent Iraqi police force.
Nearly two weeks after pushing across tributaries of the Tigris river into east Baghdad, convoys of US marines headed south to take up new positions while US army units moved into east Baghdad.
The marine withdrawal is understood to represent a significant drop in the number of US troops in Baghdad, though precise figures were not released.
Regards, Ivan
Now there's a clue
The war has not been declared over yet. Yeap: might just take him in with all the other prisoners of war.
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