Now this is encouraging


Good news from Iraq
This sounds about right.

Iraq's senior Shiite Muslim religious figure Thursday called on the country's controversial militias to disarm, marking one of the most overt forays into matters of politics and policy by the influential cleric.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, regarded as the moral voice of Iraq's Shiite majority, called for a government of technocrats rather than political loyalists or sectarian interests and said that only government forces should be permitted to carry weapons on the streets.

"Weapons must be in the hands of government security forces that should not be tied to political parties but to the nation," said the Iranian-born Sistani in a statement released by his office in Najaf after he met with the newly designated prime minister. "The first task for the government is fighting insecurity and putting an end to the terrorist acts that threaten innocents with death and kidnapping."

I believe that is called "taking matters into your own hands."

Yes, some people are upset with the role that the Shiite clergy is assigning for itself, but that is the point. Democracy is supposed to be debated, argued over, sweated on, and stretched.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - April 28, 2006 at 06:30 PM  Tag


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