Pro-US Iraqi sources quote American and British diplomatic reports as pointing out that a growing
anti-US sentiment among the Shiite community in Iraq may cause a serious problem to the Americans and the Brits in Iraq. There are indeed reports suggesting that the Shiites in Baghdad and in Western Iraq are increasingly restless and eager to declare Jihad against the Americans. The same sources say that an Australian diplomat who visited Kuwait recently had confided there that he had found the situation in southern Iraq explosive, despite ongoing British, Italian and Polish efforts to appease Shiite leaders there. Meanwhile, Shiite leaders are working out a peaceful plan to counter US opposition to a Shiite autonomous area in southern Iraq. This plan is likely to include a call for a general strike and demonstrations in Baghdad and the Shiite provinces.
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