Iraqi Army graduates rip off uniforms in protest

washingtonpost: The graduation of 1,000 new Iraqi army soldiers in restive Anbar province took a disorderly turn Sunday when dozens of the men declared that they would refuse to serve outside their home areas, according to U.S. and Iraqi military authorities.

The graduation ceremony at Camp Habbaniyah, a base about 45 miles west of Baghdad, was going well. The 978 Iraqi soldiers, who had just finished nearly five weeks of military training, paraded before a review stand to the sounds of martial music. They took an oath of service while U.S. and Iraqi officials delivered speeches hailing the event as an important step toward the formation of a national army.

Then some soldiers started tearing their clothes off.

The protest was triggered by an announcement that the new soldiers, all residents of Anbar province -- widely considered the heartland of Iraq's Sunni Arab insurgent movement -- would be required to serve outside the province.

While the fracas fell well short of outright mutiny -- there were no reports of officers coming to harm, and the soldiers ate a meal in an orderly manner later that day -- a video clip of the graduation aired on the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya television networks on Monday gave the impression of a near-riot.

The clip showed what appeared to be dozens of angry, shouting troops ripping off their desert-camouflage uniforms and throwing them in the air or on the ground. Others shook their fists in the direction of the camera, as Iraqi officers, waving their arms, attempted to stop the tumult. In the background, most soldiers simply milled around, looking confused about what was taking place. Read more


"It was a momentary but very brief display of displeasure" - Lt. Col. Michael Negard