Provoking the Sunnis

The Iraqi government has banned all organized trips to Saddam Hussein's grave in northern Iraq.

The government issued the order on Monday after some schools began arranging trips for their pupils to visit the site in Saddam's native village of Al-Awja, outside the northern town of Tikrit, a government statement said.

This comes across as a purely vindictive move by Iraq's Shi'a government. It will annoy some Sunni Arabs, and I don't see how it does anything positive for Nouri al-Maliki's administration.

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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement in Jerusalem on July 1, 2010. (Photo: AFP)
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Gen. David Petraeus testifying on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Reuters)
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A demonstration in London against the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla. (Photo: AFP)
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