[Marxism] Patrick Cockburn: "US 'victory' against cult leader was 'massacre'"

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Independent (London)
US 'victory' against cult leader was 'massacre' 
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad 
Published: 31 January 2007 
There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the battle
outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi security forces
supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed and 210 wounded, is a
fabrication. The heavy casualties may be evidence of an unpremeditated
massacre. 

A picture is beginning to emerge of a clash between an Iraqi Shia tribe on a
pilgrimage to Najaf and an Iraqi army checkpoint that led the US to
intervene with devastating effect. The involvement of Ahmed al-Hassani (also
known as Abu Kamar), who believed himself to be the coming Mahdi, or
Messiah, appears to have been accidental.

The story emerging on independent Iraqi websites and in Arabic newspapers is
entirely different from the government's account of the battle with the
so-called "Soldiers of Heaven", planning a raid on Najaf to kill Shia
religious leaders.

The cult denied it was involved in the fighting, saying it was a peaceful
movement. The incident reportedly began when a procession of 200 pilgrims
was on its way, on foot, to celebrate Ashura in Najaf. They came from the
Hawatim tribe, which lives between Najaf and Diwaniyah to the south, and
arrived in the Zarga area, one mile from Najaf at about 6am on Sunday.
Heading the procession was the chief of the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif
al-Hatemi, and his wife driving in their 1982 Super Toyota sedan because
they could not walk. When they reached an Iraqi army checkpoint it opened
fire, killing Mr Hatemi, his wife and his driver, Jabar Ridha al-Hatemi. The
tribe, fully armed because they were travelling at night, then assaulted the
checkpoint to avenge their fallen chief.

Members of another tribe called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to stop the
fighting but they themselves came under fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers and
police at the checkpoint called up their commanders saying they were under
attack from al-Qai'da with advanced weapons. Reinforcements poured into the
area and surrounded the Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen
tried - in vain - to get their attackers to cease fire.

American helicopters then arrived and dropped leaflets saying: "To the
terrorists, surrender before we bomb the area." The tribesmen went on firing
and a US helicopter was hit and crashed killing two crewmen. The tribesmen
say they do not know if they hit it or if it was brought down by friendly
fire. The US aircraft launched an intense aerial bombardment in which 120
tribesmen and local residents were killed by 4am on Monday.

The messianic group led by Ahmad al-Hassani, which was already at odds with
the Iraqi authorities in Najaf, was drawn into the fighting because it was
based in Zarga and its presence provided a convenient excuse for what was in
effect a massacre. The Hawatim and Khaza'il tribes are opposed to the
Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the Dawa Party,
who both control Najaf and make up the core of the Baghdad government.

This account cannot be substantiated and is drawn from the Healing Iraq
website and the authoritative Baghdad daily Azzaman. But it would explain
the disparity between the government casualties - less than 25 by one
account - and the great number of their opponents killed and wounded. The
Iraqi authorities have sealed the site and are not letting reporters talk to
the wounded.

Sectarian killings across Iraq also marred the celebration of the Shia
ritual of Ashura. A suicide bomber killed 23 worshippers and wounded 57
others in a Shia mosque in Balad Ruz. Not far away in Khanaqin, in Diyala, a
bomb killed 13 people, including three women, and wounded 29 others. In east
Baghdad mortar bombs killed 17 people.




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