Al-Sadr supporters in Najaf burn effigies of Obama and Biden

From the New York Times online comes a visual diary of a demonstration by supporters of Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr held earlier this week in Najaf, Iraq, protesting the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The protest came on the seventh anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by American forces.

Protesters burned effigies of U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and stomped on the flags of the United States and its allies.

Here are photographs of the event by Joao Silva for The New York Times:

Anger and resentment toward America by majority Shiites, who suffered under severe oppression and persecution by dictator Saddam Hussein, may seem missplaced to Americans, but the removal of the heavy hand of Saddam has resulted in the widespread insurrection of the minority Sunni muslims in Iraq, who attack Shia civilian targets with car bombs.

There seems to be plenty of kindling to start the fires seen by Jeremiah the Hebrew prophet 2,600 years ago that consume the cities of Babylon and help bring about the utter desolation of the land of Chaldea.