Due to many calls, inquiring about the health of our grand scholar, Ayatollah Seyyid Seestani [sic], please be informed that he is sick with a heart problem and is under the supervision of several medical specialists. We hope that they send us a report about his well being as soon as possible.Predictably, a representative for Sistani in Baghdad, Sheikh Jalaladin al-Sagheer, claimed to know nothing about anything, but would get back to me.As we thank all of those who are asking about his health, we urge all the Mo'mens to raise their hands in supplication to the Almighty Allah swt to bestow upon him health and shade him with total protection as soon as possible.
It should also be known that the Ummah of Islam, particularly the Shi'a, are in dire need for his presence in this sensitive era, the time that requires brave stands and honorable decrees.
Peace and blessings be upon you all.
Despite al-Sagheer's studied cluelessness, Sistani's flight out of the country indicates his health condition is indeed very serious, because he hasn't left his home in Najaf in years. His reclusiveness is, in part, a source of his authority, lending him an oracular air.
This news of his health problems first broke yesterday, but the continued fighting in Najaf, where the ayatollah lives, has made getting medical attention to him difficult. He's in critical condition, my Shi'a friends say, possibly on his death bed. Dijla Radio, a local station here, is reporting that he's suffered a severe heart attack. But so far, no one in Baghdad really seems to know the full situation. All anyone is sure of is that if Sistani dies, the fighting in the south could get a lot worse as Moqtada al-Sadr and other leaders in the Shi'a community jockey for power.
Juan Cole, who knows a lot more about this than I do, says this:It is not clear that the other three grand ayatollahs have Sistani's high opinion of parliamentary democracy rooted in popular sovereignty. He would probably be succeeded by Muhammad Said al-Hakim, an Iraqi and distant cousin of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). SCIRI certainly does not have a long-term commitment to democracy, though Muhammad Said al-Hakim has never identified with that party himself. The other two possible successors are Bashir Najafi, a Pakistani, and Muhammad Fayad, an Afghan. Bashir Najafi is more vehemently anti-American than Sistani. Another contender is Sayyid Kadhim al-Haeri, sometimes called the "fifth grand ayatollah", who is still in exile in Qom. He is a follower of Iran's Khomeini and a radical reactionary on social issues. He had been Muqtada al-Sadr's mentor but has broken with him.While Moqtada's Mahdi Army can be fairly well relied upon to attack Coalition forces, al-Hakim's Badr Brigade (the military arm of SCIRI) might be persuaded to help settle the inter-Shi'a rivalries by taking on Moqtada's boys. The Badr Brigade is the largest militia in Iraq after the Kurdish pesh merga, numbering around 10,000 men.
Meanwhile, I'm hearing reports from my fixers of fighting in Basra, Amarra, Najaf, Karbala, Nasariyah, Sadr City and the al-Shu'lah and al-Sha'ab 'hoods in Baghdad.
A., my old friend, tells me four British troops have been killed in Basra and that Amarra is completely controlled by the Mahdi Army. He went to Karbala yesterday to visit friends of his and saw three mosques filled with "thousands" of weapons, including Katyusha rockets, Strella SAMs and more Kalashnikovs than he could count. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has apparently used the two-month cease fire to regroup, train and purchase more weapons from Iran, and it's likely that a lot more mosques than those three in Karbala have been turned into arms depots.
Things in Iraq have taken a radically bad turn, in my opinion, and the postponement of the national conference seems a bit of a storm in a teacup in comparison. The Americans and the Iraqi Interim government have bigger problems -- e.g., another two-front insurgency -- than whether a veneer of legitimacy will be slathered on by the seating of an Interim National Council.
It sounds as though things in Iraq have deteriorated drastically in the last couple of weeks, and the new news about al-Sistani’s health is anything but hopeful. Have you heard anything about the new currency, and the man said to be in charge of its issuance, one al-Shebibi (sp?)? I am wondering if anything to do with that is playing a part in the increasing disarray - I’ve heard very little about that, and since money plays such a huge part in pretty much everything, I’m curious about it there. I sure hope you’re keeping your head down.
I am sure that there are many good things happening in Iraq that for some reason the stories are not getting out.
There has to be, at least that’s what I hear over and over again. Either the media is not getting the story out or all the bad things are over shadowing them. No?
To the person above who believes there MUST be good happening in Iraq, I say sure, but are they substantial? No. Should we be hearing stories about the lost puppy who was found again by its rightful owners? Do I want to hear about things that are not germaine to the bigger picture? No. Do I want to know the task that lies ahead for the rest of the world, and the U.S. in particular, in righting the wrongs that have occurred in Iraq? Yes. In short, I don’t read this get a warm fuzzy. I read this to get an unfiltered view of the challenges ahead for us. Most of what we read, I believe, tries to frame those challenges and issues so that we may understand them. To read about the “good” that is happening does not help us to understand the challenges that lay ahead.
re: good stuff. there was an interesting article by robert fisk recently about the very brave and heartbreaking work being done by the iraqi police. it depicted the police as optimistic and trying their best in incredibly difficult conditions. given robert fisk’s point of view on iraq, it is a usefully balanced read. see at: www.robert-fisk.com
Joe, Robert Fisk is the last one I want to read to get a balanced view, he looks at every aspect from an anti American point of view, one can listen to Aljazeera for that matter (if you can read Arabic).
As for the person writing about the good things happening, unfortunately not good has been happening for the past 4-6 months, lots of good stuff happened in the first 6 months but with the violence everything came to a screeching halt. The situation is so bad there these days it is very depressing. I go to lots of web sites, some Arabic, some Iraqi, and of course the English language ones and can not find any good news. Also I hear from family and friends in Baghdad and there is nothing good to say.
PacSailor, stop yearning for balanced view, it’s not going to happen. Instead, read as much and as wide as you can, including Fisk, precisely because you don’t like him, and yes, Aljazeera too. Whatever your opinion about Fisk, he cares about what he sees, if it makes him anti-American he’s not afraid to follow it. We all should start looking for integrity, not a balanced view, because that’s still out there in some places and when it’s there it is instantly recognizable.
BTW, Joe isn’t saying that Fisk presents a balanced view, he says “it is a usefully balanced read” - not the same thing, mind you.
There are ‘good’ things happening everywhere, all the time. There were ‘good’ things happening in Iraq BEFORE WE INVADED, and one of those things was ‘relative stability’. Another was ‘the absence of
a training and/or killing ground for Islamic terrorists’. Both of these aspects were obvious, not discrete, actualities.
Whatever our intentions, our invasion has massively destablized the country and our occupation has so far failed to do more than exacerbate the situation…to the point that - according to the CPA’s last poll of Iraqis, in May - 85% of Iraqis want us out no later than January of 2005, with nearly half of them favoring our getting out straight away. And to the point that only a tiny fraction of the money we’ve budgeted for reconstruction there, has been able to be applied.
And we are, so far, unable to secure additional support from the international community in bailing us out, and helping stablize Iraq, because of both the arrogance we expressed going in and the continuing dangerous and unpredictable status there today. We don’t even know that another 5,000 or so additional foriegn troops sought to protect the U.N. personnel wanted for aiding in the ‘election process’ will prove a ‘good’ thing or a ‘bad’ thing.
We are going to remain entangled, and our troops will continue to die and be wounded, and our investment in ‘war’ aspects and the eventual pricetag for fixing the results will continue to grow…
until we find a solution - or quit.
Things both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ were happening before we went in, and they will continue to happen long after we have gone.
We have taken care of the WMD problem we feared. We have unseated Saddam Hussein and his regime, and ‘liberated’ the Iraqi people. Now we have the goal of ‘stablizing’ the country…and, if I have this right, creating a ‘democracy’ there. Our initial priorities were a lot easier and simpler than the objects that have evolved into priorities.
Many Americans were given to believe that Saddam was the problem. Then, foriegn terrorists who infiltrated the country were supposed to be the problem. Now it’s ‘insurgent Baathists’ and ‘radical clerics’ who seem to be seen as the larger problem.
Forgive me, but obviously the problems go beyond a dozen clerics, 5-10,000 ‘insurgents’ and a couple thousand ‘outside terrorists’. And those problems don’t go away just because some choose to ignore them - or because we and/or our government will it to be so. As Aaron points out, even finding a lost puppy will not fix them.
Now, Chris informs us - and I haven’t seen this anywhere else - the leading Shiite cleric who has been a principal moderating force and who has not been adverse to ‘democracy’, may be dying.
This could be a very ‘bad’ thing, and likely one of significant effect, relative to that very big issue of “stability”, and the somewhat meaningful matter of our engagement.
We are STILL getting the message from our government that the invasion was a ‘good’ thing, and that we MUST stay the course. Being just a layperson, I am still not clear on what the heck “our course” IS. I CAN see it wasn’t a well-informed or well-planned one, and that as a result, in terms of execution, it seems to have sucked, hasn’t it? “Our course” has, in fact, shifted so many times, I’ve lost track of them. I have YET to hear any discussion or debate within our government, or any alternatives brought forth that could be described as genuinely “alternative”. Only justification for, or carping about, what has clearly been one failed and compounding mess after the other. The ‘debate’ is essentially a stalemate, and leaves the people whose judgement and purposes got us INTO this, and who have continued to get us in deeper, alone at the wheel. And many in this country seem not to see that as a problem.
This is even more deply troubling to some, than the
terrible circumstances regarding Iraq.
Jeez, Chris, keep yer head down for a couple o’ weeks. I know that puts a damper on the whole “journalism” thingy, but if al-Sistani goes to his reward, that whole part of Iraq is going to explode.
The fact that—even after the “handover”—the US is still legally responsible for security reassures me not one bit. Our guys are just treading water trying to stay alive—cut loose 10,000,000 greiving Shia, and toss in a power-struggle between the various mullahs, and things look grim indeed.
I can’t believe the mainstream media isn’t carrying this story. No, wait…I can. The day after Sistani dies CNN, MSNBC, and Faux will all be blindsided, as usual.
I’d say kudos to you for getting us vital ground-truth, but I don’t want to encourage you to do anything (more) foolhardy :-P
All the veterans I’ve talked to have expressed variations on the following theme: We knew __ was a tough assignment. Just please respect us enough to give us the facts: how bad is it? what’s our plan?
They knew when they got deployed things were going to be hard. All they really ask in return is honesty and enough supplies to do their jobs.
Unfortunately, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, all have parallels and similarities: difficult-to-impossible situations with no clear plan in sight.
I support our troops — and it seems clear the best thing for them is to bring them home NOW.
I read everyone I can. Fisk included. To be exclusionary is to limit yourself. I want many perspectives, and I use my own common sense, then I drawn conclusions…I say conclusions, but they really aren’t. They are opinions that are constantly in a state of flux because I remain open-minded. Leaders cannot have that luxury. I cannot imagine what I would do as, say, President of my country, America. It is always easy to be a backseat driver…
Joe — Thanks for pointing out the Fisk piece. It was quite touching …
We have broken Ayatollah Seestani’s heart. I hope he gets better. I feel my my heart breaking too. I have never felt so helpless and so ashamed. bush must be stopped. We a madman that is far more dangerous, I feel than saddam. this war on tarra has infected the whole world, what’s left of it.
bush is a war criminal if I ever saw one.
Sincerely
The corporate media has forgotten about Iraq. A toddler has a longer attention span, and a higher sense of ethics.
Only one solution:
Elect Ralph!
I’ll have us out of there quicker than you can say “egomaniac”.
hmm.. no URL? ok, here you go:
http://www.ralphnadir.com
Trish, I’m not following you. Are you saying the administration HASN’T had “shifting opinions” about many things relating to Iraq?
And by “always easy to be a backseat driver”, do you mean to suggest that unless one is at the wheel, one shouldn’t pester the driver or complain when the driver gets lost for want of knowing where he is going, or the car swerves off the road
and down the side of a mountain? Both those situations would certainly qualify as being “in flux”.
What about backseat drivers who point out that the gas tank is about empty, or that the car appears to be gliding over into a lane of on-coming traffic. Is THAT o.k. in your book?
Or is your view of ‘citizenship’ that the correct behavior is just to get in the car and keep your eyes and mouth shut, unless it’s to defend the driver against fellow passengers?
I see the problem here as broader than just the administration
Good piece, and I just want to second the sentiment about keeping your head down.
I cannot imagine what I would do as, say, President of my country, America. It is always easy to be a backseat driver…
“Don’t bother the driver” is a rotten metaphor to apply to a democratic nation.
Just a note about Sistani’s condition: To say he’s on his deathbed seems premature — in a post on Needlenose.com this morning, I quoted a New York Times article saying that Sistani had three blocked arteries:
http://www.needlenose.com/pMachineFree2.2.1/weblog.php?id=P1537
That’s serious enough, and may require open-heart surgery, but an update to the NYT article says he walked unassisted getting off the plane in London:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/international/middleeast/06CND-IRAQ.html
Meanwhile, a new article in the Guardian adds, “An aide told the Guardian the ayatollah, who has no history of heart problems, would not go straight to hospital but would probably spend a couple of days seeing doctors. His plans had not, however, been finalised.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1278082,00.html
Since things are ominous enough already, I wanted to make sure no one got carried away. :)
If things are going as well in Iraq as Faux News has been suggesting, then why do all the Faux News reporters continue to cower in the safety of the “green zone”?
Why don’t we see Faux News reporters going out to all those refurbished schools and hospitals to do “on the spot” interviews of happy Iraqi teachers, students, nurses, doctors, and so forth?
Faux news= False news
sacres francais ;-)
funny,
Why when the news reports turn bad…
this blog’s reply area starts to pick up and ‘punchy’ jabs are thrown around at posters
LOL
Sistani is out of harms way while the current Iraqi govt. may wish to proclaim Marshall law in certain cities.
I read ( from one blogger ) that of some 1,000 of Sadr’s followers who were caught,surrendered or just gave up,
400 of them were released from Saddams prison system.
WHy is that such a non factor?
I would like to see more personal bio’s about the foot soldier’s of Sadr’s army.
There are many rumors about Sistani’s trip to London. Some people believe it’s part of a conspiracy aimed at isolating Sadr from Sistani and depriving him of any possible support although it’s a well known fact that Sistani doesn’t support Sadr at all and that Sadr had surrounded Sistani’s house soon after the war and asked him to leave Iraq. Other people say that Sadr deputies had visited Sistani lately and had asked him to declare Jihad but Sistani, as expected refuse strongly which lead to those men threatining to kill him
To sum things up most people think that Sadr militia will soon be history and most of them think this is a good thing since they know that a large number of people who joint Sadr militia were originally thieves and looters who want chaos to spread so that they can repeat what they did after the war.
Chris,
what do you thinkabout Al Jazeera getting shut down in Baghdad for 30 days ?
There are good things happening everywhere
Richard, very nicely laid out, the Great Expectation in the American mind over Iraq is the metaphoric equivalent of what we have unleashed and subsequently, cannot contain.
re: Al-Jazeera being shut out for a month: I think it’s bullshit. Look, Al-Jazeera does crappy journalism. They make stuff up all the time. They’re often grossly inaccurate. However, being a bad journalist — if you believe in some version of a free press, which is encoded in the TAL — doesn’t mean the government gets to shuts you down. It means the government doesn’t grant you interviews or otherwise doesn’t talk to you. That’s the business. Hell, I work for TIME and sometimes I can’t get interviews… All in all, I think it’s a very bad precedent.
hey - didnt mean to cause a controversy re the fisk piece. what I meant was that because he has such a well-defined position (firmly against the invasion/war) it was interesting to read a piece in which he did point out courageous and positive things being done in Iraq, in the face of terrible conditions.
and while we’re on the subject - anything by Wendell Stevenson (sp?) on slate.com has a similar “down on the ground” kind of feel - that is, concerned with the simple, very difficult realities - which I find quite a relief after the tons of words expended on geopolitics.
Robert Fisk is not, I repeat, IS NOT anti-American. He has done numerous talks in the US and focuses his ire on the often flawed and self-interested foreign policy of governments (not only the USA’s). His reports in the field are excellent, based as he is in the Middle-East, and he has an encyclopaedic knowlege of the history of the region.
Recently, writing for The Independent, he risked his life by joining an Iraqi police unit on patrol as it braved the rigours of modern day Baghdad. These guys probably have one of the toughest jobs in the world, fighting spiraling crime and terrorists who are actively targeting them, in a 45 degree heat and a population who are just learning to trust them again.
And guess what? They were pro-invasion and took it in good faith that the occupying powers had come to liberate them. This was a positive story: these men were keen to do their jobs for their neighbourhoods despite the abysmal conditions, poor pay, and daily risk of being blown up or shot. And yet they had job satisfaction!
It’s as it is with Fisk…unlike many journalists, he’ll never disguise or hide any aspect of a story.
Juan Cole had some more to say about Sistani’s condition:
“One problem with an all-out attack on the Mahdi Army was that it might endanger the life of, or meet opposition from, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. He was therefore spirited out of Najaf on the pretext that he had heart problems”
He left Najaf by taxi, a rather long and uncomfortable journey I guess, stopped on his way in Beirut and took time to meet people there, and once in London he did not go directly to the hospital. His condition does not seem that bad.
http://www.najaf.org/English/home/index.htm if you typ in the above website there will ap[aer a pop up that shows a video of Mr Sistani in his hospital bed!
Arjan
Hey Chris,
From what I’ve read on other blogs,
it’s getting LOUD in the Baghdad ghetto/slum.
Can you take a peek out the window?
I’m just wondering,
Is this the begining of the end to armed bandits and criminals hiding under the robes of Islam
or
Is this the begining of the break up of Iraq ? ( as Al Jazeera suggests from their perch in southern Iraq. )
imo,
seems it’s ALL in the balance over the next few weeks with the rescheduled national conference.
Guess it depends on how loyal the living dead haunting those cemetaries will follow up with the upcomming friday sermon ?
Keep in touch when ya can.
Have you considered that al Sistani’s sudden illness may be cover during a planned operation against al Sadr’s al Mahdi Army? The timing is just too convenient, in some ways, to keep al Sistani out of touch during this explosion of hostilities across Iraq. Clearly, there may be a heart malady, but the coincidence of this “known ahead of time” strike on al Sadr is too much for me to buy.