Bush effigy burned in anti-US protest in Baghdad

Praxius

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CTV.ca | Bush effigy burned in anti-US protest in Baghdad

BAGHDAD -- Followers of a Shiite cleric on Friday stomped on and burned an effigy of President George W. Bush in the same central Baghdad square where Iraqis beat a toppled statue of Saddam Hussein with their sandals five years earlier.

Chanting and waving flags, thousands of Muqtada al-Sadr's followers filled Firdous Square to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact that would allow American troops to stay for three more years. The Bush effigy was placed on the same pedestal where U.S. Marines toppled the ousted dictator's statue in one of the iconic images of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

After a mass prayer, demonstrators pelted the effigy with plastic water bottles and sandals. One man hit it in the face with his sandal. The effigy fell head first into the crowd and protesters jumped on it before setting it ablaze.

Before it fell, the effigy held a sign that said: "The security agreement ... shame and humiliation."

Iraq's parliament is expected to vote next week on the plan to keep U.S. forces in Iraq for another three years. But the noisy opposition by the Sadrists indicates that even if it is approved, the deal could remain divisive in a country struggling for reconciliation.

Opponents view the security deal as a surrender to U.S. interests despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, saying the pact would eventually lead to full sovereignty.

Al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, was not at the protest, though he wrote a sermon read by his representative, Sheik Abdul Hadi al-Mohammadawi, calling the U.S. "the enemy of Islam."

"The government must know that it is the people who help it in the good and the bad times. If it throws the occupier out all the Iraqi people will stand by it," the sermon read, using common rhetoric for the United States.

Al-Sadr reiterated in the sermon that his followers in both the armed and the peaceful factions of his movement will continue to work for the removal of U.S. forces.

Security was tight for the demonstration, with the area closed to traffic and heavily guarded by Iraqi soldiers in Humvees. Army snipers took positions on top of buildings overlooking the square. The Sadrists also provided their own security, searching worshippers as they approached the square.

The protesters included two Sunni clerics. Many arrived at the square on foot or by bus and carried prayer rugs, pieces of cardboard or newspapers for the mass prayer.

They waved Iraqi flags and green Shiite banners, chanting, "No, no to the American agreement!" and, "No, no to the agreement of humiliation!"

The Cabinet has approved the agreement, meaning it stands a good chance of passage in the 275-seat parliament where the government's parties dominate. But for al-Maliki's Dawa party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, its senior government partner, the margin of support is almost as important as the victory itself. A narrow vote for approval will cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new terms governing the U.S. troop presence.

Al-Sadr's followers and other legislators opposed to the pact also could try to use the narrow vote to turn their anti-American message into a defining issue in provincial elections on Jan. 31 and general elections late in 2009.

If the agreement passes the legislature, it will go to the president and his two deputies for ratification. Each one has veto power.

Looks like it could turn into Round 3.
 

EagleSmack

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Good GRIEF!! They are burning effigies of Bush and the American FLAG! Protesting America! How unheard of! How different! What change this latest development will bring! :roll:
 

GreenFish66

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Not that Bush doesn't deserve it but just for today ..Let's give him a break ...It friday..I am in a good mood!...Let us remember the one good thing Bush did do...Got rid of Hussein...!
 

EagleSmack

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You think Bush gives a rats arse about this?

Well in two months (or so) they will be burning Obama's.
 

scratch

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May 20, 2008
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Not that Bush doesn't deserve it but just for today ..Let's give him a break ...It friday..I am in a good mood!...Let us remember the one good thing Bush did do...Got rid of Hussein...!

Bush forgot that he was not to blame, but Daddy 41 said it was so, therefore a sovereign nation was invaded and untold people on both sides killed just to satisfy his ineptitude.
 

Praxius

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Good GRIEF!! They are burning effigies of Bush and the American FLAG! Protesting America! How unheard of! How different! What change this latest development will bring! :roll:

And I thought in another thread you said things were getting better.... now you're agreeing things are about the same?

Flippity Flop flop.

And I didn't post this because of the Bush effigy..... I posted it as it is a sign that things Might revert right back to square one.... thus Round 3.

If this bill is passed and US troops are allowed to stay even longer, the entire situation will explode into another bloody mess of instability, worse then it currently is.... that's not a stab at the US, that's just how it's going to be based on Iraqi logic and reaction.

Those who are causing most of the distruction in Iraq are doing so because they oppose the US being there and even as it states above, if the US leaves, they will:

"The government must know that it is the people who help it in the good and the bad times. If it throws the occupier out all the Iraqi people will stand by it (The Government),"

the greater majority of all the violence will most likely subside and they will work to bring their nation back into one..... to me that sounds like a good idea.... they all get back together, shape their country as they can all agree on, and your mission will be a success..... I don't see how that can be a bad thing.
 

EagleSmack

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And I thought in another thread you said things were getting better.... now you're agreeing things are about the same?

Flippity Flop flop.

.

I was being sarcastic in this thread and with that post. Things are getting better.
 

MHz

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Mar 16, 2007
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Not that Bush doesn't deserve it but just for today ..Let's give him a break ...It friday..I am in a good mood!...Let us remember the one good thing Bush did do...Got rid of Hussein...!
Isn't that a bit like stabbing you x-partner in the back? It doesn't matter if he was just finishing what his papa started.
 

scratch

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May 20, 2008
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Besides it's Monday November 24, 2008.

Not Friday.

Check your buffer dates.
 

EagleSmack

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Wait and see.

Your mindset will change.

Well I hope not Scratch. I hope things end up OK over there. Isn't that what we all want?

Hey...I was thinking of you and the College Football trivia/discussion we were having. I liked doing that. We should start a thread.