IIP welcomes Resistance Council?

The al-Haq News Agency reported over the weekend that Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic Party had issued a statement welcoming the formation of the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance.

The Iraqi Islamic Party statement as published online

If this is an authentic statement (and I haven't seen it denied) it would be significant because it would mean that Hashemi - the highest ranking Sunni in Maliki's government, and recently the driving force behind a "National Compact" which received a blessing of sorts from Ali Sistani  - is attempting to bring the "nationalist-jihadist" factions of the Sunni insurgency directly in to the political arena.  The document calls on Arab and Islamic countries and international agencies to "deal with the Political Council and to recognize it as an important representative of a section of Iraqi society."  This comes at roughly the same time that Salah al-Mutlaq of the National Dialogue Front announced his support for the PCIR initiative on al-Jazeera and called for direct negotiations with these representatives of the Iraqi resistance.

The Political Council of the Iraqi Resistance seems to represent the most ambitious effort to date by the major factions of the Sunni insurgency to present a public political face and outline a political agenda.   It includes, among others, the Jihad and Reform Front (a coalition led by the large nationalist-jihadist Islamic Army of Iraq) and Hamas Iraq (a Muslim Brotherhood-linked faction which split from the 1920 Revolution Brigade last fall).  There's a fascinating debate going on right now on many of the forums about their program and their ideas about which I hope to write something soon - one of the most interesting elements of these debates being the way in which the conflict between al-Qaeda in Iraq and the PRIC PCIR factions is increasingly being framed as part of a wider, Islamic world-wide conflict between jihadists and the Muslim Brotherhood.  Other Sunni factions remain wary, al-Qaeda in Iraq has been scathingly critical, and I haven't come across any comment yet from the various Awakening Councils.

If the PRIC PCIR were recognized and dealt with by the United States or others as a legitimate interlocutor, it might well offer a way to bring these important factions to the table.  At the same time, it wouldn't automatically solve anything.   Their own position on talks with the US does not appear to have changed:  its foundational documents reject the legitimacy of the current government and all laws passed under American occupation, and leaders of its constituent factions have said repeatedly that they would only talk to the United States after it said a clear and binding timetable for withdrawal.    Dealing with the PRIC PCIR would challenge the privileged position of the various Awakenings and Salvation Councils through which the US currently prefers to work.   It would likely be far less forthcoming towards the US, but might be more able to deliver on its agreements given the weight of the insurgency groups within the Sunni community.   Maliki's government and the other Shia factions would be even less happy with this than they are with the American deals with the Awakenings.   

Still, the fact that the IIP seems interested in backing the PRIC PCIR is an intriguing development worth following.

Comments

[Doug]

"If the PRIC were recognized...", you'd call it a penis? Freudian slip?

[aardvark]

.... ouch. Of course it was supposed to be PCIR.
Pretty funny though!

[Doug]

I got a kick out of it ; )

[Andrew R.]

Is "We demand Izzat al-Douri back in power, the complete withdrawal of the Americans, the dissolution of the current government, and a pony" an intentionally high opening to start out the bidding, or are they simply that confident in their eventual victory?

[Katie]

Hey Marc, unrelated to this post, but I'm wondering:

What do you think of the idea that there's serious talk about the Kirkuk referendum going on in negotiation attempts right now?

[Alison]

The endorsement of this Council by arch-collaborator Tareq al-Hashemi and other puppets will make many people wonder if it isn't a phoney outfit, after all. It should also be pointed out that the groups that make up this Council, if it is genuine, only represent the moderate wing of the Sunni Islamist Resistance (the AMSI camp). The non-sectarian, Ba'ath-led Jihad and Liberation Front, which enjoys the support of progressive-nationalist organisations opposed to the occupation, represents the broader Iraqi National Resistance.