IRAQ - Ezzat al-Douri Killing

Why It Doesn’t Matter if Iraq’s Ezzat al-Douri Was Killed (Video) Posted on Apr 18, 2015 By Juan Cole http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_it_doesnt_matter_if_iraqs_ezzat_al-douri_was_killed_video_20150418 SUMMARY Ezzat al-Douri = first high Baath Party official to turn to a religious group as a power base strategy common after 2003 US invasion Baath Party was founded by Christians & was militantly secular often persecuting religious groups & parties al-Douri = patron of Naqshbandi Sufi order in Mosul Sufism = mystical part Sunni tradition diff to Wahhabi-influenced Salafi al-Douri said to be behind “Men of the Naqshbandi” effective fighters against US + Shia in North Iraq Mosul Iraq Naqshbandis = one of groups that allied itself w. ISIL vs Shiite army ISIL stabbed Naqshbandis in the back Iraq Mosul ISIL Salafism offshoot screwed over new allies by arresting leading Naqshbandi figures & ex-Baathist ones USA method of eliminating heads of militant orgs has not worked on Taliban or in Iraq; partly b/c clan-led republics Iraq Taliban Leader elimination ineffective b/c when one leader is killed, his cousin just steps in Iraq Taliban Other reason eliminating leaders not effective: religion Religious charisma transferable (according to article) That Ezzat al-Douri may have been killed is not important He was old [& interchangeable {by sound of article}] Iraq by destroying the Baath govt of Iraq, Bush admin made vacuum of power & culture filld by religious forms of resistance Iraq Iraqi Sunnis were among more secular people in Middle East author says: desperation drove them to religious revolt. Really enjoyed this article. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party political party founded in Syria Al-Ba'ath or Ba'ath meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection" ideology mixing Arab nationalist, pan-Arabism, Arab socialist and anti-imperialist interests. Ba'athism calls for unification of the Arab world into a single state. [Wikipedia]