You likely won't read this anywhere else

...because no one else in the world is nutty enough to make this connection. (Well, OK, it's crossposted to astroprisoner so technically you can read it there, also.)

Bombs Damage Dome of Shiite Shrine in Iraq



Les'see...bombers disguised as Iraqi police...Shiite protesters in the street...calls for calm...increased chance of Iraqi civil war...

Ah. Yes. Here it is. The Item of Interest.

Quote:
Tradition says the Askariya shrine, which draws Shiite pilgrims from throughout the Islamic world, is near the place where the last of the 12 Shiite imams, Mohammed al-Mahdi, disappeared. Al-Mahdi, known as the "hidden imam," was the son and grandson of the two imams buried in the Askariya shrine.

Shiites believe he is still alive and will return to restore justice to humanity. An attack at such an important religious shrine would constitute a grave assault on Shiite Islam at a time of rising sectarian tensions in Iraq

Hidden imam? Disappeared? 12th? Coming back? Wait...where have I heard all of this before?

Oh yeah...here.

Except there's just one problem. While Iraqi Shiites believe that the 12th Imam will return at the Askariya shrine in Samarra, the Iranian Shiites are equally convinced he'll turn up at a well in the Iranian city of Qom. High on the list of people who believe this is apparently is the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (a man not currently known for straying from rash actions or statements).

Well, geez, this is a conflict. How can this 12th Imam guy show up at two places at once? How can this conflict be resolved? How could it...oh, wait, now that the Askariya Shrine is a pile of rocks, I guess the Imam must be headed to the well.

And if I can figure this out, then clearly Iraqi Shiites may come to the same conclusion.

So let's take a look at what the explosion accomplished:

• Increased tension between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites
  
• Increased the chances of an Iraqi civil war
  
• Increased the chances that Iraqi Shiites may move closer to the Iranian fold, if they believe the Sunnis are blowing up their holy sites
  
• Increased the belief that the 12th Imam has to return to the Iranian location, as there is no Iraqi location any longer
  

Gosh. I wonder who might have been behind the bombing? I ran 'round in circles trying to figure it out, it just seems to escape me...

Update: Oh great, the news story headline now reads U.S. Says Will Help Rebuild Bombed Shrine

Want a timeline on when Iranian military action will start? Find out when they estimate repairs on the shrine will be complete. It'll be just before that point.