The American Spectator

Another Perspective

(Page 4 of 5)

br> * Locally oriented groups primarily oriented towards protecting the Shia civilian population ... /p>

Sunni Fighters

p>- Al-Qaida in Iraq and Affiliated Iraqi Islamists: objectives: br> *Coerce Coalition withdrawal through Coalition casualties and destabilization.... /p> p>- Sunni Baathist/Military: Objectives: br> * Restore Sunni supremacy and protect the Sunni population against Shia ascendancy /p> p>- Sunni Vigilantes: Objectives: br> * Some elements want to drive out Shia civilians from mixed neighborhoods... /p> /blockquote> br> And on and on.

And that's not the half of it. Last week American and Iraqi troops took on 300 armed zealots in Najaf who called themselves "The Army of God." This was a Shi'ite splinter group planning to attack Shi'ite pilgrims on Ashoura, the holiest day in the Shi'ite calendar, plus kill the Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the highest Shi'ite cleric in Iraq. Why? Because they are followers of the Hidden Imam, a 12-year-old boy who declared himself the Twelfth Imam in the 8th century and then disappeared but will come back to rule the world one day if all the other pretenders can be wiped off the face of the earth.

topics:
Islam, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran