Show AlO — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday April 24 2003 ' Q k Iraq occupation Smite KARBALA Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Shiites are organizing local committees doling out funds' to pay salaries collect- -' ing looted property and sending militias to secure hospitals and electric plants The Shiites are fast filling the power vacuum left by die ouster of Saddam Hussein — and some fear their dominance of postwar Iraqi politics could lead to an Islamic theocracy like the one next door in power vacuum Sunni-dominat- ' ifJ L patriot missiles said to be big letdowns DOHA Qatar (AP)— At do GR4 aircraft became the vicwar’s first friendly-fir- e tims when a Patriot battery hit them March 23 Tragedy nearly struck again March 25 when a Patriot bat-toy south of Najaf locked its radar onto an American 6 fightec The jet shot out the battery’s radar system befpre its missiles had a chance to fire Raytheon Corp which makes tire Patriot as well as the Ibmahawk anise missile bills the Patriot as “the world’s most advanced ground-base- d air defense sys- this stage in the 1991 Gulf War the Patriot missile was a celebrated war hero credited with countless lolls of Iraqi rockets Only later was it learned that Patriots downed Scuds no more than four times in47 firings This time the Patriots have Masted more than 10 missiles but are being branded one of the biggest letdowns of the Iran ed Long repressed under Saddam’s government and representing 60 percent of Iraq's population of 24 million the Shiites have divided their religious loyal- ties between at least three leaders Yet their opposition to a prolonged US presence on Iraqi soil appears uniform and some look to Iran as a model “The Iranian experience proved to be successful until now and I hope Iraq will be the same” said NajiAbdel-Razza- k civil a servant in Karbala Added Kathem a cleric from the Hawza seminary in Karbala: “We want to establish an Islamic Shiite state-th- e same as what hap— though he id Iran” pened doubted the United States would permit that Thousands of Shiites demonstrated against the United States in Karbala on Wednesday carrying banners with messages such as “No to America no to Israel yes to Islam” Their brethren recited the final prayers of a fervent religious pilgrimage that dramatized the potential for Shiite power in Iraq The pilgrimage to mourn the Prophet Muhammad's grandson was organized by a center of Shiite teaming known as the Hawza — the same organization that since Saddam's ouster has A V Shiites step Shiite-dominat- V" ' - ed F-1- war The problem: The missile also shot down two allied jet fighters “Obviously the biggest technological disappointment is the Patriot” said John Pike s defense analyst With “Those are die only two airplanes that Patri-ot- s have ever shot down The big glitch was the Patriot friendly fire’’ The US military the Patriot’s manufacturer and analysts say it is too early to tell how effective the Patriots were But the system showed lethal flaws despite a $3 billion upgrade of older Patriots since system! tem” rg APphoto Shiite Iraqis beat themselves with chains as they mourn the death of Imam Hussein grandson of Prophet Muhammad at the Sayeda Zeinab shrine on the outskirts of Damascus on Wednesday The y event which marks the end of the traditional mourning period culminates today 40-da- been sending out volunteers to guard banks and set up checkpoints Reports that Iran seeks to influence Iraqi Shiites are setting off alarms in Washington “We have concerns about this matter about Iranian agents in Iraq” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer responding to reports that Iranian-traine- d agents have crossed into southern Iraq to promote Shiite clerics and advance Iranian interests “We've made our points clear to the Iranians” After toppling Saddam’s regime the Bush administration is keen on setting up a democratic gov- broad-based ernment in Iraq — with representation from Shiites Sunnis and Kurds Paradoxically however instituting majority rule could bring theocracy not democracy — and one that’s not necessarily friendly to US interests Winning Shiite support is key to US efforts to block the influence of Iran — and there are signs this may be possible Senior Shiite clerics have insisted they want to share power with Iraq's Sunnis and Kurds Iraqi Shiites are Arab not Persian like their Iranian counterparts and they have a strong sense of Iraqi nationalism During the Iran-Ira- q war from 1980-8- 8 they did not rise up against Saddam Many Shiites oppose the idea of an Islamic state run by clerics including Iraq’s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Hussein Islamic Revolution in Iraq has its headquarters in Tehran the Iranian capital The group’s leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir is still in Iran But his brother Abdel Aziz who command? the group’s armed wing has come back to Iraq to pave the way for the ayatollah’s return Iranian political analyst Saeed Leylaz doubted Iran could have much say about its neighbor “Iran doesn’t have the strategic ability to greatly influence the situation in Iraq or sway it in its own favor due to its own economic problem and lack of international or regional support for an Iranian im project" he said 1991 Three coalition aviators were killed by Patriot hits and the strikes accounted few nearly half die five airplanes lost by American and British forces Iraqis apparently shot down two other fighters while a third accidentally slid off a US aircraft carrier “It didn’t have to happen Our own people killed him” Ana Mitchell said after her brother Lt Nathan White was shot down in his FA-1- 8 south of Baghdad on April 2 Two crew members of a British Royal Air Force Torna -- But Raytheon spokesman Steve Broken said it was premature to judge the Patriot’s performance over the monthlong war Asked about the friendly-fir- e episodes he referred all questions to US Central Command in Doha “We’re only the manufacturer of the system not its operational user" he said Central Command spokesman LL Cmdr Charles Owens said that the missile's overall performance was “pretty good" but that the military is still investigating the downing of the planes At least 17 Iraqi missiles were launched from southern Iraq toward Kuwait during the war — almost all of them bought down by US or d Patriots Others fell harmlessly into the Persian Gulf or the desert g while another — a cruise missile — slipped under the radar and exploded near a pier in Kuwait City Two people were treated for minor injuries Kuwaiti-operate- ground-huggin- Iraq's largest Shiite group the Supreme Council for YOU'RE INVITED TO A feOYDS RESIN SPECIAL EVENT I I i jsi u The Bearstone 10 Celebration! 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