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April 23, 2007

Comments

Abu Ghayib

Could you back up the following statement:

"Meanwhile, the Islamic State of Iraq has issued an appeal to all the insurgent factions to pledge fealty (baya), specifically focusing on the Islamic Army of Iraq and Ansar al-Sunna but appealing to a wide variety."

The reason I ask is that the graphic you posted isn't necessarily from the ISI, and in fact I think there's reason to believe it isn't. The ISI has tons of supporters online, and the context that I've seen that and the two other graphics in is a "campaign to get 6,000 signatures supporting the unification of the factions under the banner of the ISI." Have you seen anything from al-Furqan or the ISI "ministry of information" or anything more official that would indicate that the ISI itself is really behind this? It seems a little ham-handed and out of place, especially given how conciliatory Baghdadi was in his speech, not mentioning the baya even once. It seems much more likely that it's the work of some overzealous fans.

aardvark

AG - you're right, from everything I can tell, this was circulated by a supporter of the ISI (I like your phrase, "overzealous fans"), not by the ISI itself. My mistake - I've corrected it above.

bb

Does the Hamas/Iraq political program include the demand the resistance be accepted as the sole, legitimate representative of the Iraqi people? If not perhaps the absence of such a demand is significant. And does the program give any hint of how HI envisage post liberation arrangements?

Significantly, the recent ISI "reconciliatory" statement was immediately followed by the announcement of the ISI "cabinet". Once again ALQI leading from the front.

Re the Anbar Awakening. The difference between this and past clashes with ALQI is surely that the shiekhs are now supplying the recruits for the local police force and the military Emergency Response Units. Surely this means in effect the Iraqi Govt and the US is training a future Pesh Merga for the Sunni Arabs. And according to reports the Awakening is seguing this into an "Iraq Awakening" and is beginng to articulate its own political program.

The Anbar shiekhs and ALQI seem to be facing off for a battle for leadership/control of the Sunni governorates. Surely the non ALQI insurgency can't afford to be left out of this equarion?

anon

does anyone think that maybe the CIA threw a bunch of money at these tribal sheiks to come over to our side and that actually it may be a black ops program to split the sunni insurgency?

nakliyat

thank you very very nıce thank you very very much....

bb

Anon ..very good point. It's what the CIA did in Afghanistan with satisfactory results from their point of view.

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