Who was behind the Samarra blasts?

Tehran Times / Hassan Hanizadeh | February 28 2006

Last Wednesday’s terrorist bombings of the holy shrines of the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, Imam Hadi (AS) and Imam Hassan Askari (AS), in Samara, Iraq, was a very serious incident which increased the possibility of a civil war breaking out.

In addition, Shia Muslims all over the world are now accusing the U.S.-led occupying forces of complicity in the act.

The United States is suspect because it occupied Iraq on the pretext of establishing democracy in the country, but U.S. officials now realize that the democratic process has not turned out as they had planned and not benefited U.S. interests.

Thus, the U.S. has changed its approach and is now trying to create sectarian and ethnic strife in Iraq.

The obvious interference of U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in preventing the formation of a national cabinet reflecting the vote of the majority of Iraqis proves that the U.S. contention that it seeks to establish democracy in Iraq is a blatant lie because the U.S. does not want to accept the results of the parliamentary election.

Khalilzad recently said that the Iraqi interior, defense, oil, and security affairs ministers must be approved by the U.S. and no one opposed to U.S. policy should be allowed to become a minister in the cabinet of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Khalilzad’s recent remarks and the fact that he is claiming a veto right over cabinet appointments indicate that the United States seeks to prevent the formation of a national government in Iraq by creating chaos in the country.

Alongside the U.S. efforts to trigger a sectarian conflict in Iraq, the Zionist lobby, surprised by Muslims’ united reaction to the Western media outlets’ insult of Prophet Muhammad (S), is now trying to break this unity.

The unholy alliance of the United States, the Zionist regime, and the terrorists operating in Iraq planned the bombing of the holy shrines in order to justify the continued presence of occupying forces in the country.

Of course, this treacherous plan to bomb the holy sites in Iraq will not be limited to the shrines of Imam Hadi (AS) and Imam Hassan Askari (AS). Other religious sites may also face the same fate in the future since the occupying forces are trying to ignite sectarian and ethnic conflicts in order to dismember the country into mini-states.

However, both the religious authorities in Najaf and the religious-political leaders in Iraq are well aware of this devious U.S. plot and have therefore called on Iraqis to foster unity and avoid impulsive reactions.

This call was welcomed by all Sunni and Shia Iraqis, who have condemned the terrorist actions of the occupying forces.

Of course, the Iraqi people, and particularly the religious authorities, are monitoring the suspicious activities of the occupying forces, and they will not allow religious differences to cause the country to break apart.

Therefore, after the formation of a national government, the entire Iraqi nation will call for the withdrawal of the occupying forces, and then there will be no option left for the foreign troops besides withdrawing from Iraqi territory.