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05/23/2004: "Iraqi Clerics support U.S. efforts ... kinda"

It seems that we are winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi Arab street. Via Zeyad, excerpts of a joint statement of senior Shia clerics:

1. It is the movement of Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr that is losing legitimacy in the strictest sense
[....]
2. It is the movement of Sayyid Muqtada that has encouraged the occupiers to cross the red lines. And as aside from that, the American occupiers while storming into Iraq and marching towards Baghdad through Najaf and Karbala did not commit the stupidities and insolence with regard to the sanctities in the two holy cities they have committed now.

3. And it is clear that the organization of Sayyid Muqtada - and whoever follows the Sadrist movement - were the first to violate the sanctity of the yard of Haydari Shareef (Imam Ali's shrine in Najaf)
[....]
4. The organization of Sayyid Muqtada is now carrying out intimidation of the general public and arrests of citizens, not only those whom they call collaborators with the occupation, the police, owners of stores selling foodstuffs to occupiers and others, but also students of religious sciences opposed to them
[....]
5. The firing of shots at the great dome of the shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) [in Najaf], according to some specialists was most likely from the weapons of Sayyid Muqtada's followers and not from the weapons of others
[....]
6. The strike on the home and office of his Excellence Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani happened within the security perimeter whose every span was controlled by the organization of Sayyid Muqtada
[....]

• Item 2 seems to imply that we viewed Iraqi shrines beneath contempt, neither worth saving nor destroying. But since Al-Sadr was such a jerk, as the logic goes, we decided to go ahead be insolent.
  
• Items 5 and 6 talked about unnamed others. Do those unnamed others refer to U.S. soldiers? If so, then the Iraqi clerics seem to be painstaking in their efforts not to praise U.S. efforts.