Iraqi Shiites Stage Massive Anti-U.S. Rally
Thousands of Iraqi Shiites protested against a deal between Baghdad and Washington that would enable the U.S. to keep its forces until 2011 in Iraq.
The massive rally came after radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr told his followers to voice their opposition to the plan.
Approximately 50,000 followers did as told, chanting “get out occupier!”
Sadr’s anti-U.S. stance has massive grassroots support among the countries Shia. They want the United States to withdraw, many of them considering Americans to be ‘infidels.’ They also realize that they are the majority in Iraq meaning that if the U.S. would have withdrawn one or two years ago, they would rule today. Instead, the U.S. has forced moderate Shiite leaders to reach a deal with Sunni leaders, thereby ensuring that the minority’s voice be heard too.
Radical Shia are not exactly fond of such a liberal democratic approach.
The United States, meanwhile, actively lobbied in Iraq and at home for the bill. Especially U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates did his best to convince as many congressmen as possible of the necessity of the plan. This while their support is by no means mandatory.
It is yet another sign, however, of Gates’ different approach to politics than that of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld would have ignored congressmen in Washington, D.C., and especially Democratic senators and representatives. Gates, however, favors a bipartisan approach, which would almost automatically result in more lasting support for the deal than if only the White House would favor it.
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