Thursday, April 12, 2007
Iraq Islamic Army may be willing to negotiate with U.S.
Security
(DPA) - A spokesman for an Iraqi insurgent group said in an interview with al-Jazeera television Wednesday that his group was willing to negotiate with the United States if the power withdraws from the country. Ibrahim al-Shemmari, spokesman of the predominantly Sunni Iraq Islamic Army (IIA), offered to enter into negotiations with the United States under certain 'conditions' provided that an outside body like the European Union, Russia or Turkey hosted talks.
Al-Shemmari vowed that IIA fighters would continue resistance against US troops until they leave the country, but said the group was prepared to enter into negotiations if the US Congress made a 'binding decision' to withdraw US troops. 'Our second condition is that the Americans recognize the resistance as a legitimate party,' he said.
Al-Shemmari vowed that IIA fighters would continue resistance against US troops until they leave the country, but said the group was prepared to enter into negotiations if the US Congress made a 'binding decision' to withdraw US troops. 'Our second condition is that the Americans recognize the resistance as a legitimate party,' he said.
He also said in an interview with al-Jazeera television that there was a 'widening gap' between his group and al- Qaeda forces in Iraq. And he claimed that insurgent forces have killed 25,000 Americans - a number that is disputed by carefully kept US figures. Al-Shemmari described his group as including 'faithful elements' from the dissolved Iraqi army but excluding 'all Baathists.'
Al-Shemmari charged that the gap with al-Qaeda came about after it had killed 40 IIA fighters, but vowed that the group was seeking reconciliation to unify all the insurgent groups and fight until the US troops leave the country. 'We are keen on the unification of all resistance groups. We have written for this end to Osama bin Laden and other scholars,' al- Shemmari said.
In Washington, the private think tank, Brookings Institute, which keeps a widely respected tally of deaths in Iraq, reports only 470 deaths of foreign non-Iraqi private military contractors. In all, it estimated there were more than 20,000 private military contractors serving in Iraq, but did not specify their nationality.
Another website, Iraq Body Count, estimates Iraqi civilian deaths at 61,000 to 67,000. Al-Shemmari faulted the official figures of the US military command in Iraq, which officially puts the number of troops killed in the past four years at about 3,243. He said the number neglected 'the mercenaries and personnel involved in the logistic services.'
Al-Shemmari said that the former Iraqi army 'included both faithful personnel and corrupt Baathists,' which was why Baathists were excluded from the IIA. He dismissed as 'propaganda' reports that Baathists, belonging to the ruling party of former President Saddam Hussein, represented the backbone of the Iraqi insurgency. He pointed out that the IIA had 'benefited' from all previous guerrilla warfare experiments, including the Vietnam war, in its operations against the US-led multinational force in Iraq. He blasted the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, as a 'sectarian cabinet which is part of the Iranian project'.
In Washington, the private think tank, Brookings Institute, which keeps a widely respected tally of deaths in Iraq, reports only 470 deaths of foreign non-Iraqi private military contractors. In all, it estimated there were more than 20,000 private military contractors serving in Iraq, but did not specify their nationality.
Another website, Iraq Body Count, estimates Iraqi civilian deaths at 61,000 to 67,000. Al-Shemmari faulted the official figures of the US military command in Iraq, which officially puts the number of troops killed in the past four years at about 3,243. He said the number neglected 'the mercenaries and personnel involved in the logistic services.'
Al-Shemmari said that the former Iraqi army 'included both faithful personnel and corrupt Baathists,' which was why Baathists were excluded from the IIA. He dismissed as 'propaganda' reports that Baathists, belonging to the ruling party of former President Saddam Hussein, represented the backbone of the Iraqi insurgency. He pointed out that the IIA had 'benefited' from all previous guerrilla warfare experiments, including the Vietnam war, in its operations against the US-led multinational force in Iraq. He blasted the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, as a 'sectarian cabinet which is part of the Iranian project'.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ibrahim al-Shemmari, Iraq Islamic Army, negotiations, U.S.
