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| Iraq | |
| Gangsters destroy distilleries in the name of Islamic purity | |
| 2003-05-16 | |
| Eight distilleries providing most of the spirits produced in Iraq have been burned and looted by Muslim gangs claiming they are purifying the country of alcohol, which is forbidden by Islam. The attacks came as no surprise to the factory owners, who have spent the past month in a desperate attempt to get protection for their businesses. "We went to the American soldiers, we went to the United Nations and we went to the police academy, but not a single door was opened to us," said Shaker Isa Jibrail, owner of two factories. All the US forces did was take his gun, making him one of the few people in Baghdad without a weapon. "They disarm me and leave me defenceless in the face of criminal gangs. I cannot go near my property for they will shoot me. Every time I leave home, I fear my family will not be there when I come back," he said. Mr Jibrail is spokesman for four factory owners who estimate that they have lost £15.5 million. They are Christians, as the alcohol trade is restricted to them, though many Muslims indulge behind closed doors. They knew that, in a country with a majority population of Shia Muslims, the booze business was not going to thrive. They went to an Islamic cleric, who witnessed a joint pledge to turn their factories over to medical and industrial alcohol and stop producing gin, whisky and arak. But this served no purpose when the mob came. "This never happened under Saddam," said Mr Jibrail. "The Americans can take Baghdad in 48 hours but claim they cannot stop looters. Why do they allow Kurds to buy looted cars by the thousand and take them to the north? The Americans want to put looters and gangsters in power over us." A trip to Saadeh, 20 miles east of Baghdad, confirmed everything the factory owners said. A gang was looting the remains of one of the distilleries, knocking down the walls and taking the bricks. One of the guards — now joining the looters — said 400 men armed with guns and rocket launchers arrived just before sunset and fired the building. "They poured the poison away like a great river," he said.
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| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #8 You're right, Matt. I didn't comment in the post because I didn't know what to say. I was absolutely speechless. Had to go down the pub to recover. Seriously though, this is a shocking development, and truly disturbing for the average Joe Iraqi - some nut trying to take the whisky out of the liberation equation. This shold unite the Iraqis more than anyone else... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-05-17 04:35:29 |
| #7 Bulldog: If the destruction of these distilleries doesn't unite the British public, nothing will. |
| Posted by: Matt 2003-05-16 14:40:41 |
| #6 Sounds like some folks didn't pay the new shakedown boss his protection money. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-16 12:27:31 |
| #5 "They poured the poison away like a great river," he said. Reminds me of that great Baptist Hymn Who Dumped The Whiskey in the Creek Better known as Shall We Gather By The River |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-05-16 12:16:20 |
| #4 Do you suppose consumption of French wine has decreased? |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-16 11:26:59 |
| #3 Just a couple of guesses: 1. These guys are connected to the former regime. How else would they be in this business? 2. Since when don't factory owners hire private guards if needed? (Like, maybe nobody wants to work for them now?) I repeat, just guesses. But I bet there are major parts of this story that haven't been reported. |
| Posted by: Glenn 2003-05-16 11:19:25 |
| #2 Actually, I'd prefer neither. This has more to do with Sadr his his Shiite hard boyz than it does with The Evil of Strong Drink™ - gutter politix, rather than Carrie Nation or Izzie and Moe. My thought is that they should be put down hard, and quickly, while we try to drive home the lesson that one group doesn't have a right to take the liberty away from another. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-05-16 10:12:22 |
#1 "The Americans can take Baghdad in 48 hours but claim they cannot stop looters. Why do they allow Kurds to buy looted cars by the thousand and take them to the north? The Americans want to put looters and gangsters in power over us." Let's see... Islamonazi theocrats or gangsters... I believe I would choose Al Capone over Mullah Omar any day. |
| Posted by: Celissa 2003-05-16 08:14:57 |