Saturday, October 30 - "There is no Sunni Triangle. All of Iraq is a killing field," thundered George Galloway MP as he introduced Dr. Khair El-Din Haseeb, a former governor of the Iraqi central bank, to give a talk on liberation and democracy in Britain's Houses of Parliament on October 26.

Haseeb, an opponent of war, sanctions and occupation who was exiled by Saddam, is Director-General of the Centre for Arab Unity Studies, an independent institute founded in Beirut in 1975. According to Haseeb, America's objectives in invading Iraq were to secure oil reserves and ensure Israel's security.

He said the US feels threatened economically by the European Union and China. To maintain its economic super power status, the US needs oil reserves. If it controls the world's access to oil, it can maintain its hegemony over the EU, Japan and China.

On Israel, Haseeb pointed out that Iraq never signed a peace treaty with that country. It only signed ceasefire agreements in 1949. Technically speaking, Israel and Iraq are therefore still at war. This, according to Haseeb, made relations difficult between Iraq and the US.

Haseeb then said the claim of a link between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda was false, and there was no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction. It was only when the Americans realised this that "they started talking about democracy."

Haseeb then spoke about resistance to the US and British occupation of his country. He pointed out that the invasion and occupation of Iraq are illegal. It was not a war of self-defence, and there was no chapter-seven resolution passed by the UN Security Council which would have provided the US and Britain with legal authority to invade Iraq.

According to Haseeb, the resistance is comprised of three main groups. The first group is comprised of Arab nationalists or Baathists, which include both those who were for, and those who were against, the previous regime. He said part of the resistance was planned before the US and Britain invaded Iraq.

The second group, Haseeb said, is comprised of Arab Islamists: selefiin and sufiin. These are individuals who one way or the other are affected by the US/British occupation and are organizing resistance to it. Their families may have been imprisoned or attacked at some point.

The third group is comprised of outsiders, including Ansar Al-Islam from the Kurdish areas near Halabja as well as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organisation.

"America wants to make Zarqawi a new Bin Laden, but I have been informed by a reliable source that Zarqawi’s followers do not exceed 200 people," he said.

Haseeb added that around 90 attacks take place a day in Iraq, "yet we never hear about these attacks in the mainstream media." He said the mafias in Baghdad who kidnap civilians for money have nothing to do with the resistance.

"Iraqi's have a clear stand on collaborators," said Haseeb. Collaborators are those who side with the American and British occupiers, such as the Iraqi National Guard who kill Iraqis. He said it was therefore hardly surprising to hear about the 49 Iraqi soldiers who had been found dead recently. In Iraq, "it happens everyday."

As for the future, Haseeb said it all depends on the US election. While on Israel-Palestine the candidates are virtually identical, on Iraq they differ slightly.

"Kerry may take things to the UN and plan for a withdrawal. The UN can then set up a transitional government with multinational forces from small Arab countries," said Haseeb.

In the worst case scenario, the US would continue with the present arrangement of a puppet government. Haseeb pointed out that this government could collapse, or interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi could be assassinated.

Concluding his talk, Haseeb said he wanted elections, but added that they "are a means to an end and not an end in itself."

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