The chair is labeled, "The Coalition government."

The picture shows a man that looks like Muqtada al-Sadr

and other members of the ruling coalition, sawing the feet

out from under the government and taking them away.

                                                                       [Sotal Iraq, Iraq]

Kitabat, Iraq

Dear Iraqis, Heed the Danger

of the Iranian Occupation! …

"Recognize the danger posed by further Iranian penetration and influence into our beloved Iraq – for it is accumulating and threatens to destroy all that Iraq is as a nation."

By Daya Al-Shakraji

Translated By James Jacobson

October 12, 2007

Iraq - Kitabat - Original Article (Arabic)

This appeal is not at all exaggerated, and I didn't start off with an unjustified mental complex toward Iran. Iraq today - or at least a large part of it - truly lies under Iranian occupation, and the tools of this occupation are religious parties, the Turbans (religious leaders), militias and informers. Some people wonder why I'm neglecting the dangers of the clear and obvious American occupation and colonization, and instead warn of Iran's shadow occupation. I say: Herein lies the danger, since the U.S. occupation is clearly doomed. The consequences of the open occupation, if they aren't over, soon will be. But Iran's hidden occupation, by virtue of its being a neighbor and its influence in neighborhoods and through social and religious relationships, is the most dangerous and most capable of surviving America's more obvious occupation.

Therefore, I ask all loyal Sunnis, loyal Shiites and loyal Iraqis of all religions, and likewise I ask our Arab rescuers, loyal Kurds and loyal Iraqis of all other nationalities to recognize the danger posed by further Iranian penetration and influence into our beloved Iraq – for it is accumulating and threatens to destroy all that Iraq is as a nation.

Despite my negative comments on the job performance of brother Mowaffak Al-Rubaie [Iraq's national security adviser ], I want to thank him for the fairness and courage he has shown in diagnosing the danger, saying in a statement on October 6 that, "Iran plays an extremely negative role in Iraq, and its interference threatens the process of national reconciliation. … They and other neighboring countries like Syria are interfering in our domestic affairs and play an extremely negative role. This interference must stop or the Iraq's ongoing political process will completely collapse; this interference is inhibiting Iraqi national reconciliation … This requires that we adopt a carrot-and-stick approach toward them by fingering them for the damage that they cause while at the same time making concessions to them … But first, the United States and Iraq must hold serious talks to unify and coordinate their positions in regard to Iran."

When even a Shiite politician loyal to the current government issues such a call, people should take notice. But it's not just Al-Rubaie's declaration that prompts my warning – since behind his words was a desire to please the Americans and not necessarily a resurgence in his sense of patriotism. I issue this warning to alert people to the seriousness of Iran's role and to alert all political forces that enjoy Iranian support or coordinate with Iran. For whatever their positions, the patriotism of anyone who is aware of Iran’s destructive role and continues to cooperate with it must have their patriotism called into question.

Being aware of the dangers of cooperating with Iraq is the bare minimum required for any politician with a national consciousness. If one is aware of the danger of the Iranians and nevertheless cooperates with them, it isn't that they love doing so. Their purpose is to derive power from it to overwhelm their opponents, their critics or their political rivals. This reflects their adherence to selfish partisan interests at the expense of the country and could seal Iraq's strategic fate.

If, however, they do so in the interests of creating a sectarian alliance with Iran’s Shiites, this reflects the replacement of the project of building our nation with a project of religious separatism, as well as a lack of awareness of the fact that Iran could care less for Iraq's Shiites; it simply wants to use them as a steppingstone for their own agenda. This is a ladder that Iraqi Shiites can climb - but they won't be permitted to climb higher than the Iranians. This has nothing to do with the interests of Shiites here or Islam there.

When we see agreements amongst several Shiite Islamist political forces, we feel optimism even though we don't agree with them, because whatever their political affiliation, this should be our right which was obtained with Iraqi blood. But we also have the right to fear these alliances and agreements, since they are erected on three pillars that all represent a serious danger to the project of national reconciliation: The first pillar is their support for political Islam; the second pillar is their support for political Shiism;" and the third is their support for coordinating with Iran.

"Are there any who will remember this admonition?" (Quran - Al-Qamar 54:17)

d.sh@nasmaa.com

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