Shiite Leader Defies Iraq Government

Courtney Habberstad Pd. 5
I. Citation:
Shi'ite Leader Defies Iraq Gov't
China Daily 3/30/08
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-03/30/content_6576414.htm

II. Summary:
On April 8th, 2007, the Iraqi's and the US were on a curfew for fighting decided by the Iraqi government. Al-Sadr wanted the Shi'ites to win the city both Iraq and US were fighting for, called Basra. Al-Sadr was a Shi'ite Muslim and decided not to listen to his government and keep up the fight. America and Britain went on code green and tightened the tensions of the war.

III. Reactions:
A) This article relates to the AP World History theme the impact of interaction among and within major societies. This best describes this article because the US and Iraq are at war and the Iraqi's not wanting desputes between fellow Iraqi's. The shi'ites did not want to submit their weapons like the Iraqi government asked, which led to difficulty in the society and attacks into the US.
B) The historical backround of this issue is the war between Iraq and the USA. This leads to disagreements between Iraqi and Shi'ites and government issues. The muslim shi'ites do not obey gov't orders and go ahead with their attack on the US.
C) The point of view of this article is a Shi'ite Muslim. It is a male insider who knows a lot about his country. He also is aware of the diputes between sects and Iraqi's and Americans.
D) There is bias in this article because the US is the opposing force. If an American was writing it, it would probably be a lot more exaggerated and even more honest on the situation. Also, if an Iraqi was writing it, it would favor the Iraqi's rather than Shi'ite muslims and it would be highly disagreeing with the idea that the Shi'ite attacked after and during the event.
E) I would like to hear from a male Iraqi and see what he thought of the situation. I would like to hear how he looked at Shi'ite muslims and his opinion of the dishonestness of Al-Sadr and troops.
F) I think this article is very interesting and gives you a good understanding of the Iraqi's hatred for the US and the war between both countries.