Maine Owl

Today Democracy Now! had this story:

US to Release Iraqi Prisoners, Teach Them About Islam

The Wall Street Journal reports US commanders in Iraq have begun releasing hundreds of Iraqi prisoners after concluding the military?s detention policy might be harming US goals in Iraq. The US is currently holding about 23,000 Iraqis, many without charge. The US military has begun building a pair of large halfway houses in Taji and Ramadi, where detainees will undergo vocational training. The Wall Street Journal reports the US military also plans to teach religious courses to the former prisoners about how to be a moderate Muslim. Imams will be brought in by the military to teach courses that highlight the Islamic precepts that bar the killing of innocents and offer alternative interpretations of jihad. [emphasis added]

Somehow I get the feeling that Iraqi Muslims will not respond well to the "re-education" efforts of their occupiers.

THIS in a way is a related story:

Muqtada and the Mahdi Army
A Cleric, a Pol and a Warrior






By PATRICK COCKBURN

The iraqi government has decided that the moment has come to crush the Mahdi Army and the followers of Muqtada Sadr once and for all. Despite its failure to eliminate his militiamen in Basra at the end of March, the government, with American backing, is determined to try again, according to senior Iraqi officials.

It is a dangerous strategy for both Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and the U.S. Sadr remains one of the most powerful and revered leaders of the Shiite community -- and the Shiites make up 60% of Iraq. What's more, the 34-year-old Sadr is not exactly the mercurial "firebrand" or "renegade" cleric portrayed by journalistic cliche-mongers; rather, he has repeatedly shown himself to be a cautious and experienced political operator. ...

In other words, the U.S. strategy in Iraq is shifting. It's evolving into a "hearts and minds" effort. But as Cockburn points out again and again, the Americans are half-assed. They don't understand the cultural depth of the Iraqi people and the notion that resistance to the cultural destruction the Americans have brought can't just be wiped away by trying to eliminate Sadr and doing a little re-education.

Cockburn's book, Muqtada, is an amazing, revealing path through Iraqi history and consciousness. Highly recommended.