Al Qaeda's brutality gave U.S. an opening
By James Janega
Chicago Tribune, 09 October 2007
BAGHDAD - The head of a Sunni insurgent group in Anbar province says the brutality of Al Qaeda in Iraq has pushed some resistance cells into discussions with American forces and Iraqi officials, but he warns that a current period of calm could be fleeting and hangs on U.S. and Iraqi government actions in coming months.
The leader of the Anbar-based resistance group Army of Truth -- a former Iraqi army officer who uses the nom de guerre Abu Ali al-Baghdadi -- said he has met with U.S. and Iraqi officials and expressed hope that former insurgents would have a role in the country's future.
In a two-hour interview in Baghdad, al-Baghdadi said some insurgent groups have united against Al Qaeda and have joined the Sunni tribal forces fighting them. He said his group had "frozen" its insurgent operations but said the moves fall short of an alliance with U.S. interests and the Iraqi government.
His remarks might offer insight into the reduction in violence in Anbar, which U.S. officials herald as a major success given the province's notoriety as an insurgents' hotbed. But his statements also raise questions about how sustainable that success might be.
"We are in a test period for the Americans. This is only temporary. We are now investigating the sincerity of American intentions," especially regarding plans to remove troops from the country, al-Baghdadi said. "If the Americans continue delaying, perhaps the groups will go back to their operations."
Before it was shut down last year, the Web site for the Army of Truth showed video clips of attacks on the U.S. military, including roadside bombings and rocket barrages.
A senior U.S. military intelligence official in Anbar province said al-Baghdadi is seeking to be a player in sectarian reconciliation.
Though the group he represents is small, al-Baghdadi's views reflect those of many former insurgent leaders the U.S. has talked to, the official said.
Shared goal: U.S. get out
Al-Baghdadi described a fractious resistance movement that opposes the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq but has argued over whether to target Iraqi security forces and how much to cooperate with Al Qaeda in Iraq.
He would not give his real name because he still considers himself a resistance fighter. But al-Baghdadi said he is a father of four from Ramadi, a former military lawyer, a member of one of Anbar province's larger subtribes and someone who has worked to open dialogue between insurgents and the government.
In testimony to Congress in September, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the Iraqi government had been reaching out to former members of Iraq's armed forces, including members of insurgent groups. A U.S. Embassy official said the Americans had been "meeting with a wide variety of people in Iraqi life."
With violence ebbing, Sunni tribal groups and members of Sunni insurgent groups are in a tumultuous period as they chart their path in Iraq's future. The discussions include anti-government Sunnis and groups that took up arms in Anbar, Diyala province and Baghdad.
Al-Baghdadi said that while many Sunni insurgents are participating in the movement led by tribal sheiks, the insurgent groups are not. Instead, he said, his and many other insurgent groups have refused to lay down arms and described operations against U.S. and Iraqi forces only as "frozen."
The tribal alliance against Al Qaeda has resulted in a lull in violence in the region, something U.S. commanders are trying to take advantage of as part of their "surge" strategy.
Because of the tribal-led security movement, Sunni insurgents are sprinkled throughout police and security forces in Iraq, al-Baghdadi said. Most are seeking a road into Iraq's political future.
Still, al-Baghdadi said, many of their members may support calls for provincial and national elections, on the assumption that group leaders, or those sympathetic to them, would gain seats in government.
Most oppose the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and seek government reforms, and nearly all want the Americans to set a timetable to leave Iraq, he said.
"For now, the resistance has become as unified as it is going to be. Most of the resistance now agrees on one program.
"If this program is achieved with dialogue with the Americans, we might have a role in leadership through the next elections," al-Baghdadi said. "But we cannot share this government while occupiers remain in Iraq."
Al-Baghdadi said he has helped the Iraqi government and U.S. forces open channels of communication with insurgent leaders in the restive Sunni towns of Abu Ghraib and Ameriyah.
If true, that would mark a shift in the insurgent groups' stance from active opposition to tentative engagement.
"We decided to change our strategy and deal with the reality on the ground. Most of the groups decided to limit their operations," al-Baghdadi said. "When we changed our strategy, we began to believe in dialogue."
Al Qaeda more isolated now
As that shift occurred, Al Qaeda in Iraq has been forced into deeper isolation, he said, with many of its fighters largely locked out of Iraq's cities.
For now, fighting a common enemy has brought broad cooperation between Iraqi insurgent groups and the tribal security movement, he said.
"Almost all of the resistance groups have agreed they are satisfied with what the tribal groups are doing against Al Qaeda," al-Baghdadi said.
"Al Qaeda doesn't care for Iraq. They don't have a strategy for liberating Iraq, only to create an Islamic state."
Citation: James Janega. "Iraqi insurgent chieftain explains Sunni strategy," Chicago Tribune, 09 October 2007.
Original URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-anbar_janegaoct09,1,6402263.story?ctrack=1&cset=true