[Marxism] RE: Explosion in Iraq Mosque

["Calvin Broadbent" <calvinbroadbent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Marv,
It is hard to tell. There seems to be very little logic though to British
and American claims that it was Al Qaeda (notwithstanding the apparently
fake Jordanian hard-disk outlining Ansar al-Islam's plans, and al Qaeda's
denial of responsibility). Why would Al Qaeda (Wahibbi muslims, yes, but
probably not quite so sectarian as some in that sect), slaughter muslim
worshippers? Similarly, as you say, why would Sunni muslims want to incur
the wrath of the Sh'ite majority? Possibly 'insurgent' groups want to ignite
civil war in order for the Americans to wade in with ever greater force and
thus get caught up in a quagmire- but this doesn't seem too likely to me at
all.
The most likely explanation seems to me that of divide-and-rule
agent-provocateurism, possibly supported via intrigues in the IGC or
pro-American Iraqi exile groups. Is it so hard to believe that a country up
to its neck in bombing the life out of a country for 13 years, and
particularly recently killing something like 12,000 civilians since last
April, and seeking the division of the country into three 'autonomous'
(balkanised) regions, might wish to encourage sectarian warfare? There is no
doubt that, as in Haiti, the British and Americans will use this apparent
'disorder' to justify their longer stay in the region. One of the first
reports I saw on the news had exactly this as its endpiece.
I hope the Shi'ite leaders, who have appeared quite calm, and put forward
similar lines of analysis as this, can keep their head and keep the peace
for a unified nationalist agenda.
I am surprised more listmembers are not commenting on this.

From: Calvin Broadbent (Wednesday, March 03, 2004 8:23 AM)

> Here is an article from today's Asia Times, which seems to echo my
immediate
> analysis of the horrible massacre. Who do people think is behind this
> reactionary killing?
--------------------------------------------
Marv wrote:

Hard to know, isn?t it?

The Independent?s Robert Fisk is sceptical that Sunni religious
extremists were behind the Karbala and Baghdad bombings, and Reuters
reports that al Qaeda has denied responsibility for the acts.

Fisk, who notes the historical absence of Shia-Sunni sectarian violence
in Iraq, says there is no reason the Sunni resistance, including its
religious fundamentalist wing, ?would want to have the (Shia) majority
of Iraqis against it.? He speculates instead that Iraqi exile groups
would have a greater interest in promoting a sectarian civil war in
order to perpetuate the US occupation.

Reuters, meanwhile, says the Islamic group affiliated to al-Qaeda which
accepted responsibility for the bombings of the UN?s Baghdad
headquarters and the Turkish synagogues has denied responsibility for
the latest action, saying it only targets ?Crusader Americans and their
lackeys?.

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