january 1, 2008
A regular spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Shammari, responded to interview questions in a new Qatari newspaper called Al-Arab*, about the latest BinLaden speech, rumors of negotiations with the awakenings and/or the Americans, and the reasons for the recent decline in attacks on the occupation forces. On the BinLaden speech, he said the time has gone by for that kind of platitudes. What BinLaden has called "mistakes" are more properly called sins and crimes, and he should have addressed that issue clearly and directly with a view to rectification. He didn't do so, and instead the result of the speech has been an escalation in AlQaeda attacks on the IAI in Samara, Latifiya and other places, Shammari said.
He said there have been no negotiations between the IAI or anyone representing them with either the awakening councils or the Americans. "When has a resistance group ever sided with the occupier... And don't forget", he reminded the interviewer, "you are not talking about people who arrived in Iraq on the backs of the American tanks. We are on the other side ..." As for talking with the Iraqi government, he said: "There is no government in Iraq such that we could have any relationship with it..." Specifically, the interviewer asked if it was possible for the Iraqi resistance to pick someone from among well-known political or religious figures to represent them in negotiations with the Americans, to which Shammari replied: "Absolutely not. The group has a Political Office which is its official representative, and if there were to be negotiations with the Americans or with any international party, the only authorized party on our side would be the Political Office."
The lengthiest and most interesting answer was on the reasons for the decline in attacks in American forces in recent months. The questioner suggested this might be owing to a diminution in attacks by a weakened AlQaeda, but Shammari said it is owing to the preoccupation by the IAI and other factions with these AlQaeda attacks on them: This is not a forced retreat, but it is a temporary tactic [on the part of the resistance] relating to battlefield management in this long and many-sided struggle, and of course it is known that the decline in the influence of AlQaeda isn't the cause the diminution in operations [against the occupation forces], but rather [the reason is] that AlQaeda is focusing on the other factions with a view to starting a jihad against the mujahideen. And naturally this is the most serious kind of danger for the mujahideen, because this comes from our own flesh and blood who are familiar with us in a way that the occupation-enemy is not, and this has become the priority for AlQaeda, against whatever of the other factions, but in particular against the Islamic Army in Iraq... And Shammari names people well-known in the IAI who have been killed by AlQaeda, calling this a "general war" AQ has launched against the IAI in Iraq, not limited only to certain areas, and which has compelled the IAI to end its policy of patience, and reply in kind. Shammari explains that it is this overall preoccupation with AlQaeda on the part of the IAI and the other jihadi factions [with the AlQaeda attacks] that has had an effect on the overall jihadi scene, adding: "this is because AlQaeda, and particularly since the death of Abu Musab [al-Zarqawi] has taken on a hidden agenda, and they are no longer interested in the concerns of the rest of the mujahideen".
*The paper should be available at www.alarab.com.qa, but seems to be currently busy or something. The interview text, however, is also reproduced here.
|
