Thousands mass in Baghdad for anti-Israel protest

As if they don't have enough problems of their own.

format_quote Originally Posted by sonz

By Peter Graff

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, chanting "We are your soldiers" and burning the Israeli flag, massed in Baghdad on Friday to protest against Israel's offensive in Lebanon.

Sadr had called on his supporters to converge on the city for the rally after Friday prayers in the sprawling eastern Baghdad slum of Sadr City, a stronghold for his Mehdi Army militia that has battled Iraqi and U.S. troops in recent weeks.

"With God's help, the Mehdi Army and Hizbollah will be victorious," chanted the protesters, some symbolically wearing white burial shrouds, during the peaceful demonstration.

State television said a million people had gathered for the rally, but this could not be independently confirmed. A dense sea of marchers slowly moved along al Shuhada, the slum's main street, many waving yellow Hizbollah flags and holding pictures of the Shi'ite militant group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

"Oh Allah, Oh Allah, make Hassan Nasrallah triumph," they chanted.

Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated government last month denounced Israel's "criminal" raids on Lebanon and warned that the violence could escalate across the Middle East.

Fighting between Israel and Hizbollah broke out on July 12, following a cross-border raid by Hizbollah during which two Israeli soldiers were captured.

As elsewhere in the Middle East, criticism of Israel, the United States' closest regional ally, is also widespread in Iraq.

Sadr, one of the most influential Shi'ite leaders in Iraq, is a key player in the new national unity government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

But many Sunnis have blamed his militias for death squad killings that fuel a worsening cycle of sectarian violence U.S. and Iraqi officials fear is pushing the country ever closer towards all-out civil war. His fighters deny the charges.

http://thestar.com.my/news/nastory.a...c=Worldupdates

I hope you read my post on the EL Salvador option. Or Crying WOlf.

format_quote Originally Posted by Joe98

If iraq is a puppet of the USA how can they protest????

Perhaps that are American soldiers in disguise !

Funny post.