Sistani, the finger points at who, now?

Last Updated: Tuesday, 2 March, 2004, 18:50 GMT


Iraq to mourn Shia massacre dead

Three days of national mourning have been ordered for more than 140 Shia Muslims killed in Baghdad and Karbala. The near-simultaneous attacks which led to Iraq's bloodiest day since the war came at the climax of a holy festival.

US and Iraqi leaders blamed the carnage on a man accused of links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

But the top Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, criticised the US for failing to secure the country's borders from foreign attackers.

"We put responsibility on the occupation forces for the noticeable procrastination in controlling the borders of Iraq and preventing infiltrators, and not strengthening Iraqi national forces and supplying them with the necessary equipment to do their jobs," he said in a statement.

The influential ayatollah, whose calls for full and immediate elections have caused problems for the US administration of Iraq, also urged his compatriots to unite against forces that would destabilise the country.
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try not to point out the obvious point here: terrorists are destroying your country. they are to blame. not the US, trying to protect you. this moral equivalence bs is ridiculous.

first, he's a huge opportunist, trying to take over the country through rushed, ill prepared elections, and now this. what the hells wrong with this guy?