-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: February 24, 2007 9:15:45 AM PST
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: "Friendly Fire" -- In Iraq, US Military Can't Stop
Shooting Itself in the Head
Arrest of Iraqi Shi'ite leader's son proves to be misstep for US
Incident strains uneasy relations;
Apology is offered
Ammar al-Hakim said he was
detained and treated roughly.
By Christian Berthelsen, Los Angeles Times | February 24, 2007
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/02/24/
arrest_of_iraqi_shiite_leaders_son_proves_to_be_misstep_for_us/
BAGHDAD -- The US military detained the son of one of America's
closest political allies in Iraq for several hours yesterday,
raising the ire of Shi'ite Muslim officials and straining delicate
relations with Iraqi leadership. The American ambassador here
quickly apologized for the incident.
Soldiers arrested Ammar al-Hakim and at least three of his
bodyguards around noon as they crossed into Iraq from Iran about 80
miles southeast of Baghdad, the capital. His father, Abdul-Aziz al-
Hakim, heads the largest Shi'ite voting bloc in the Iraqi
Parliament. The elder Hakim met with President Bush in December in
Washington and pledged to help end bloodshed in Iraq.
In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ammar al-Hakim
said troops arrested him because his passport was nearing
expiration and they thought his identification picture did not
match his appearance. He complained of being treated roughly by US
soldiers, including being blindfolded as he was transported to a
military base and having his underwear searched once he arrived there.
"We supported the new Baghdad [security] plan and we hoped that it
would succeed, but at the same time people's dignity should be
respected," Hakim said. He said the government would seek answers
from the United States about how the incident was handled.
Hakim was released after about seven hours, and US officials
rapidly began damage control efforts. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
appeared on Iraqi government television, saying that the United
States was "sorry about the arrest" and meant no disrespect.
Hakim's father leads the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution
in Iraq, or SCIRI, the largest Shi'ite party in Parliament. The
elder Hakim was a onetime opponent of Saddam Hussein and spent much
of the 1980s in exile in Iran as a commander of the Badr Corps. The
Badr Corps has been criticized for close ties with Iran and has
been accused of operating death squads targeting Sunnis, but it is
also viewed as among the more moderate Shi'ite forces in Iraq.
Ammar al-Hakim heads the Shahid al-Mihrab Foundation, a charity
affiliated with SCIRI that provides food and money to the
foundation's supporters.
News of Hakim's arrest drew widespread attention yesterday, a day
of relative calm in Iraq.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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