Calls for Calm In Iraq

The bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Iraq has thrown the country into turmoil. Factions which had been cooperating in the new Iraqi government are moving to their own corners again.

The Shi'ite-led government and religious leaders, U.S. President George W. Bush and a concerned United Nations Security Council all rallied behind calls for calm and national unity...The U.S. State Department said it suspected Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda leader in Iraq, was behind the attack.
U.N. envoy Ashraf Qazi said Iraqis must "show their will to foil the plots of those working to ignite sectarian strife" and the Security Council, deeply divided over the U.S. invasion, agreed a statement calling on Iraqis to form a unity government.
The Shi'ites' reclusive and ageing senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made a rare, if silent, television appearance that underlined the gravity of the crisis.

Pray for the Iraqi troops and policeman to be able to protect the Iraqis. And, of course, pray for our troops, as the danger is increasing.

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