'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Even the dead are not spared the campaigning for Iraq's upcoming local elections. Brightly colored placards blanket major streets and hang around the vast cemetery in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, appealing to the hundreds of mourners who stream through each day.
Bombings and shootings ripped across Iraq on Monday, killing at least 106 people in the deadliest day in more than two years. The coordinated attacks in 15 cities sent a chilling warning that al Qaeda is slowly resurging in the security vacuum created by a weak government in Baghdad and the departure of the U.S. military seven months ago.
Now that U.S. forces are gone, Iraq's ruling Shiites are moving quickly to keep the two Muslim sects separate — and unequal.
In life, Osama bin Laden was burned into the Muslim consciousness in countless ways: the lion of holy warriors, the untouchable nemesis of the West, the evil zealot who soiled their faith with blood and intolerance.
"Those voters believe that it is a ... duty to vote for people from their own sect or tribe," he said.
"It is leading a sectarian war and Iraq is part of its war and ideology in this region," Jalo said.
