.Baathists demand U.S. exit from Iraq
DAMASCUS, Syria -- A man claiming to be the top spokesman for Iraq's former ruling party said the group will not stop aiding the insurgency or engage in national reconciliation efforts unless the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad accepts conditions that would lead to its end.
Among the demands are the complete withdrawal of American troops, the abolition of laws enacted since the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime and trials of all Iraqis who cooperated with the United States and the U.S.-supported administration.
Neither the United States nor Iraq's Shiite Muslim-led government has shown any willingness to make such broad concessions to the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgents. President Bush has said he will keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the Baghdad government can keep the peace.
But the comments in the interview late last week illustrate the thinking of some Sunni Arab hard-liners. The meeting came after repeated efforts by The Associated Press to make contact in Syria with Saddam's Baath party loyalists and other supporters of the insurgency in Iraq.
The man, who appeared in person at the interview, gave himself the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed but has been identified as Khudair al-Murshidi, a former head of the Iraqi Doctors Syndicate under Saddam. He refused to give his real name or be photographed, although he - like many others associated with Saddam's regime - appeared to be moving freely around Damascus.
Saying he was in Syria while on his way to other Mideast countries to advance the party's goals, Abu Mohammed said he was official spokesman for the Iraqi Regional Command of the Baath. He said it is headed by Izzat Ibrahim, Saddam's former vice president and a fugitive with a $10 million bounty on his head who is thought to be the top leader of Saddam loyalists.
Other Baathist sympathizers and party members interviewed in Damascus, where many of them now live, confirmed the man's position and helped to arrange the interview. Al-Murshidi also appeared last month on Al-Jazeera television using the pseudonym Abu Mohammed.
He would not detail his exact connections to the insurgency but said the party's relations with insurgents were "through either direct command of some of the groups, or direct guidance or direct coordination."
He acknowledged that Arab regimes, Iraqis "and other friends" are pushing Sunni hard-liners to join reconciliation talks, but added: "We have made it clear that this is not a picnic. The Americans did not take a simple thing from us ... they have stolen our country and killed our people."
In discussing the strict conditions demanded of the U.S.-backed government in Iraq, Abu Mohammed also said his group considered the trials of Saddam in Baghdad to be illegal and the verdicts null.
Still, he did not include any demand that Saddam be restored to power.
He said the Baath party had committed mistakes during Saddam's rule. "No sane man can deny this. But the leadership of the party has started a revision of the past to draw lessons that will help rebuild Iraq," he said.
Abu Mohammed conceded Baathists had not been able to reorganize the party everywhere in Iraq, especially in the south where Shiites hold sway, and he was critical of Iranian influence inside Iraq, blaming the U.S. occupation for that.
Yet he said Baath loyalists would be willing to build relations with Washington once what he called a legitimate government in Iraq was restored.
The interview came at a time when Saddam's followers are taking steps to regroup and regain political influence outside Iraq. They have been increasingly outspoken in recent weeks, apparently in an effort to blunt efforts by other Sunni Arabs, encouraged by the United States and neighboring Arab regimes, to reach some deal with Iraq's Shiite-led government.
U.S. officials have said they believe Iraq's insurgency is made up of both Saddam loyalists, such as the former Baathists, and foreign Islamic extremist terrorists with broad al-Qaida links.
The Bush administration and Iraqi government allege that Syria allows men and money to flow across its territory to the insurgency - accusations Syria denies. Damascus has generally refused to comment on specific foreign activists inside its borders.
Saddam's Baath party was generally a nationalistic, secular party before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and in the interview Abu Mohammed suggested the group retained much of that character.
He described what he called "a big difference" between Saddam loyalists and the insurgency's al-Qaida-linked elements, which he said considered Baathists to be atheists.
"Our program is to liberate Iraq ... We are fighting the Americans because they have occupied Iraq, while al-Qaida has a different program. They want to kill the Americans in Washington and anywhere in the world," he said.
SPI
Damn who would have guessed that the Baath was living in Syria. News to me, I thought they were all in Jordan, and will continue to think that until I'm provided with evidence to the contrary
Among the demands are the complete withdrawal of American troops, the abolition of laws enacted since the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime and trials of all Iraqis who cooperated with the United States and the U.S.-supported administration.
Neither the United States nor Iraq's Shiite Muslim-led government has shown any willingness to make such broad concessions to the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgents. President Bush has said he will keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the Baghdad government can keep the peace.
But the comments in the interview late last week illustrate the thinking of some Sunni Arab hard-liners. The meeting came after repeated efforts by The Associated Press to make contact in Syria with Saddam's Baath party loyalists and other supporters of the insurgency in Iraq.
The man, who appeared in person at the interview, gave himself the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed but has been identified as Khudair al-Murshidi, a former head of the Iraqi Doctors Syndicate under Saddam. He refused to give his real name or be photographed, although he - like many others associated with Saddam's regime - appeared to be moving freely around Damascus.
Saying he was in Syria while on his way to other Mideast countries to advance the party's goals, Abu Mohammed said he was official spokesman for the Iraqi Regional Command of the Baath. He said it is headed by Izzat Ibrahim, Saddam's former vice president and a fugitive with a $10 million bounty on his head who is thought to be the top leader of Saddam loyalists.
Other Baathist sympathizers and party members interviewed in Damascus, where many of them now live, confirmed the man's position and helped to arrange the interview. Al-Murshidi also appeared last month on Al-Jazeera television using the pseudonym Abu Mohammed.
He would not detail his exact connections to the insurgency but said the party's relations with insurgents were "through either direct command of some of the groups, or direct guidance or direct coordination."
He acknowledged that Arab regimes, Iraqis "and other friends" are pushing Sunni hard-liners to join reconciliation talks, but added: "We have made it clear that this is not a picnic. The Americans did not take a simple thing from us ... they have stolen our country and killed our people."
In discussing the strict conditions demanded of the U.S.-backed government in Iraq, Abu Mohammed also said his group considered the trials of Saddam in Baghdad to be illegal and the verdicts null.
Still, he did not include any demand that Saddam be restored to power.
He said the Baath party had committed mistakes during Saddam's rule. "No sane man can deny this. But the leadership of the party has started a revision of the past to draw lessons that will help rebuild Iraq," he said.
Abu Mohammed conceded Baathists had not been able to reorganize the party everywhere in Iraq, especially in the south where Shiites hold sway, and he was critical of Iranian influence inside Iraq, blaming the U.S. occupation for that.
Yet he said Baath loyalists would be willing to build relations with Washington once what he called a legitimate government in Iraq was restored.
The interview came at a time when Saddam's followers are taking steps to regroup and regain political influence outside Iraq. They have been increasingly outspoken in recent weeks, apparently in an effort to blunt efforts by other Sunni Arabs, encouraged by the United States and neighboring Arab regimes, to reach some deal with Iraq's Shiite-led government.
U.S. officials have said they believe Iraq's insurgency is made up of both Saddam loyalists, such as the former Baathists, and foreign Islamic extremist terrorists with broad al-Qaida links.
The Bush administration and Iraqi government allege that Syria allows men and money to flow across its territory to the insurgency - accusations Syria denies. Damascus has generally refused to comment on specific foreign activists inside its borders.
Saddam's Baath party was generally a nationalistic, secular party before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and in the interview Abu Mohammed suggested the group retained much of that character.
He described what he called "a big difference" between Saddam loyalists and the insurgency's al-Qaida-linked elements, which he said considered Baathists to be atheists.
"Our program is to liberate Iraq ... We are fighting the Americans because they have occupied Iraq, while al-Qaida has a different program. They want to kill the Americans in Washington and anywhere in the world," he said.
SPI
Damn who would have guessed that the Baath was living in Syria. News to me, I thought they were all in Jordan, and will continue to think that until I'm provided with evidence to the contrary
posted by madtom at 12:47 AM
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