Word: clerics
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...Iraqi officials across the political spectrum are seeing the glass as half full. "I assure you this number will drop sharply the moment the Americans withdraw their troops. That also goes for violence in general," says Ahmed Hassan al-Massoudi, a member of parliament aligned with radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. "I don't think 9,000 is a reason to worry, because you can see these numbers in other civilized countries," says Ahmed Bassam Mohammed, a police lieutenant and former member of an Awakening council in Baghdad. "For example in the United States you might have such...
...service wound to a close around noon, families swarmed across the red carpets to receive communion from white-robed priests. One cleric later donned a Santa mask and hat to pass out toy trucks and pink purses to a crowd of screaming children...
Iraq's parliamentarians, who rarely shy away from showboating, didn't disappoint either. There were rowdy scenes in the legislature as lawmakers from anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc interrupted a discussion about the fate of non-U.S. troops in Iraq to demand al-Zaidi's immediate release. Noisy exchanges ensued, culminating with the mercurial speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, threatening to resign. "I can't work in such a situation!" he shouted, according to lawmakers who attended the session. It's not clear if al-Mashhadani, who is known for his outbursts, will follow through...
...opponents of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, it was an Eid bonus. With the hubbub over the Status of Forces Agreement having died down, the movement led by the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had run out of things to denounce: Zeidi's "heroism" was just what they needed to return to the streets, bearing the usual banners of protest and U.S. flags to burn. The Sadrists also made political hay of Zeidi in parliament, bringing it to a standstill. The gadfly speaker, Mahmoud Mashadani - no mean headline-grabber himself - threatened to resign.(See the Top 10 Awkward Moments...
...ground by security guards and removed from the room. Little has emerged about the journalist, a correspondent for al-Baghdadiya, a satellite TV channel that broadcasts from Cairo. According to some reports, he was kidnapped by an unidentified group in November 2007 and rescued by anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. It's not known if al-Zaidi has any political affiliation with al-Sadr's group. His employer has demanded his immediate release, but according to the Prime Minister's media adviser, Yasid Majid, al-Zaidi will be charged with insulting the Iraqi state...