The Imam Ali Mosque: may it burn to the ground.

Chalk another one up for the religion of peace.

The al-Sadr militia is holing up inside the holiest (man that's redundant) mosque of the Shi'ite sect, the Imam Ali shrine, occasionally coming out to exchange fire and throw grenades at Coalition Forces. The looming spectre of nationwide Shi'ite unrest should, the mosque be accidentally harmed, is heavy on the minds of U.S. commanders. The al-Sadr militia is occupying the mosque waiting for just this to occur.

Here we find a perfect example of radical Islam's own indifference towards their supposedly sacred places of worship. If it so sacred to their sect, why would any Muslim in their right mind lure the fight there knowing full well they risk damage, desecration and even total destruction of the shrine? Like I mentioned previously, they may be trading up a most holy site for the blood of American (and Coalition) forces that will surely be sought should a Shi'ite uprising occur throughout Iraq. (Iran is probably crossing their fingers right now)

...or... they are simply praying Allah will protect them there.

I'm betting on the former.

Yet interestingly enough, this scene invokes an air of familiarity to the Palestinian occupation of the Church of Nativity two years ago.

"On April 2, 2002 armed Palestinian Arab terrorists forced their way into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, one of Christianity's most sacred sites, the birthplace of Christ. In the midst of over 200 nuns and priests, they sought refuge from Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces action against suicide bombing activity originating from West Bank locations. For 38 days, until May 10, 2002, the world watched as the gunmen refused to surrender their positions inside the Church. Only Israeli restraint and respect for the Christian shrine prevented the Palestinian desecration from turning into its destruction." (source)

It appears only the Coalition and Israeli forces are capable of maintaining a degree of reverance and respect for the holy and sacred sites of other religions. Once again, unsurprisingly, it was Islamic extremists who holed up inside a sacred site, with little regard for the consequences of its desecration.

Part of me wants the Coalition Forces to reduce the shrine to ashes and rubble, but fearing for their safety and well-being, I pray there's another way to capture the rebel Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and disband his group of thugs.

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On a final note... If I hear one more Democrap talk about how the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan has "caused a swelling of the ranks of new recruits for Al-Qaeda," I'm going to flip.

I think it says something of the degree of enthusiasm, loyalty and pride (however misguided it may be) Islamic extremists have in their sick, twisted cause when Western forces bring the pain.

I wish for once the tables would turn and we'd hear how the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attacks on the Pentagon and the USS Cole, the embassies in Africa, and the very real and live threat to our very existence as a nation every day would result in the "swelling of new recruits" for the U.S. Armed Forces!

Posted by Kyer at August 12, 2004 01:46 PM