May 17, 2004

Bomb kills head of Iraq Governing Council

The head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed today in a suicide car bombing near a checkpoint outside the coalition headquarters in central Baghdad, dealing a blow to U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq ahead of a handover of sovereignty on June 30.
[I've gotta say, the AP--which borders on becoming as Leftist as al-Reuters these days--is veering into America-bashing gloom and doom here. This attack dealt more of a pyschological blow to Iraqis who want to see democracy and security in their country even more than the USA.--Jen]
[...]
Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, was the second and highest-ranking member of the U.S.-appointed council to be assassinated. He was among nine Iraqis, including the bomber, who were killed, Iraqi officials said.
[...]

A previously unknown group, the Arab Resistance Movement, claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying in a Web site posting that two of its fighters carried out the operation against "the traitor and mercenary" Saleem.
[...]
Saleem, the name he went by most frequently, was a Shiite who led the Islamic Dawa Movement in the southern city of Basra. He was a writer, philosopher and political activist, and edited several newspapers and magazines.
    
One Governing Council member, Salama al-Khafaji, said the bombing appeared to be an effort to foment sectarian divisions in Iraq and disrupt the transfer of political power.
[Yep. That's exactly what al-Zaqarwi wanted.--J.T.]
    
Another member, Naseer Kamel al-Chaderchi, blamed the bombing on the same groups that have conducted other attacks, including the August bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad that killed 22 people, including U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
    
The council selected Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a Sunni Muslim civil engineer from the northern city of Mosul, to replace Saleem. Al-Yawer will lead the council until June 30.
    
Al-Yawer said the council would continue "the march toward building a democratic, federal, plural and unified Iraq."
[Notice he uses the word "federal," which means he's not pushing for the division of Iraq into Shi'a, Kurd and Sunni parts. Good!--Jen]

"God willing, the criminal forces will be defeated despite all the pain they are causing to our people and their heroic leaders," he said.

We're praying for that over here in the U.S., too, Mr. al-Yawer.
And we wish your the best as the new head of the IGC.
What's left to say, except to send my condolences to the loved ones of Mr. Saleem and the others who were murdered today (but I'm not sorry to see that suicide bomber go).
The IslamoFacist terrorists are still doing all they can to torpedo the handover of power on June 30, but their efforts look increasingly desperate to me.
They've tried to take us on military and that's worked out very poorly for them (There are piles of their dead all over Iraq who met the wrong end of our M-16s.), so they've reverted to the suicide bombing of high-profile Iraqis.
The next 6 weeks until the handover will continue to be tough for all of us, but endure it we must and that goes for both Freedom-loving Iraqis and Coalition troops, as risky and scary as it might be.
The end result--a free Iraq where people can live without fear and with their human rights and dignity protecteed--will be so worth it.