The Shi'ite Factor
Badr Brigade prepares to fight the U.S.
Ayatollah Hakim, leader of the Iraqi Shi'ites, was imprisoned for calling for an Islamic state. He managed to escape to Iran, where he is supported by the mullahs. Hakim has pledged to fight any American military administration set up in post-war Iraq. And he has 15,000 well-trained soldiers ready to fight - the Badr Brigade.
Backed by Iran, the Badr Brigade have just moved 5,000 troops into Iraqi Kurdistan and also into positions in Southern Iraq. Sheikh Hammoudi is Ayatollah Hakim's political adviser and envoy to the Americans. He states that if the White House does not recognise their right to rule, they will mobilise their networks within Iraq against Americans: “Sensitivities will be aroused. It will also fling the door wide open to the forces which can be termed extremist and which might react by carrying out acts of a violent nature.” Karim Waez was gassed by Saddam in the Iran/Iraq war. Like most Shi’ites has a deep mistrust of American intentions: “They're the ones who made Saddam strong.” In 1991 Washington encouraged the Shi'ites to rise up only to ignore Saddam’s massacres in Basra and Karbala. They are reluctant to trust American again. Produced by SBS Australia
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