Hamas In Iraq Gives Tell-All Interview
Very interesting interview with Hamas in Iraq (Sunni group) spokesman Ahmad Salah Al-Din as translated by MEMRI.
He basically makes these points:
1. Al Qaeda in Iraq is only 15% of what it was a year ago. In other words the U.S. Forces, along with the young Iraqi Army and Iraqi Security Forces wiped out 85% of Al Qaeda in Iraq in one year’s time.
2. Hamas says that they have some proof that Iran had funded Al Qaeda in Iraq, figuring that if they couldn’t impose Shia rule in Iraq via their proxy Moqtada al Sadr, they could at least destabilize the mostly Sunni-and-US-friendly Iraqi government by aiding AQI.
2. Iran and the United States are the enemy of Hamas…the U.S. most likely wants the oil in Iraq and to establish military bases there, but Iran is a worse enemy because they want to rule Iraq and eradicate Sunni beliefs, changing the power structure in the region. A shia vs Sunni thing.
I think that this is something that most Americans, especially the left-leaning liberals, don’t understand. They don’t understand how important it is that Iran not be allowed to control Iraq. They are trying via proxies…Iran can not be allowed to gain a stronghold in Iraq, and the only way to keep them from doing that, apart from all-out war with Iran itself, is to help the Iraqi government break free of Iranian influence.
Liberal Democrats also do not understand that Iraq is the place that Al Qaeda has designated as the battleground, and that it wasn’t all that long ago that Osama Bin Laden himself said that Baghdad is the capital of the Islamic Caliphate.
We are winning, we are pushing them out. The Iraqi Military is getting stronger (Petraeus gave them a B+ today), and to talk about leaving now is like…
…like Rocky stopping halfway up those stairs.
Below is the MEMRI translation of part of that interview:
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Has Its Own Agenda, Which Transcends the Borders of Iraq
“Regarding the reasons for the confrontation with Al-Qaeda, Salah Al-Din stated: ‘We do not regard Al-Qaeda [in Iraq] as a resistance organization, since it has its own agenda which transcends the borders of Iraq. This has been clear since Abu-Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi vowed allegiance to Osama bin Laden - because after the occupation of Iraq, Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, [1] which was under Al-Zarqawi’s command, was close to all Iraqi resistance factions and even planned to join forces with Al-Jaish Al-Islami. However, after Al-Zarqawi’s vow of allegiance to bin Laden was publicly announced, things changed considerably: Al-Qaeda began openly spreading its ideas, goals, and hatred, and accusing of heresy anybody who took part in the political process, including Sunni Arab parties.
“‘Following Al-Zarqawi’s assassination, Al-Qaeda intensified its aggression against Iraq’s resistance factions, until they became its primary [targets]. A confrontation ensued between [Al-Qaeda] and most of the Iraqi resistance factions, including the Thawrat Al-’Ishrin brigades - after Al-Qaeda had the audacity to murder Hareth Al-Dhari, the nephew of Sheikh Hareth Al-Dhari, secretary-general of the Council of Muslim Clerics in Iraq.’”
The Real Al-Qaeda Commander [in Iraq] is Abu Ayub Al-Masri
“Salah Al-Din accused Al-Qaeda of being subservient to Iran, [claiming] that they had [extensive] evidence to that effect. He said: ‘We found Iranian [currency], toman, at an Al-Qaeda headquarters that we uncovered. We have also captured Iranian weapons, not to mention audio and video recordings containing announcements by Al-Qaeda fighters that they had received training in Iranian military camps and that Al-Qaeda wounded were being transported to Iran for medical treatment.’
“Salah Al-Din claimed that Al-Qaeda’s real commander [in Iraq] was Abu Ayub Al-Masri, and that [Abu ‘Omar] Al-Baghdadi [2] was an Iraqi figure to whom many [words and deeds] are attributed solely to create the impression that [Al-Qaeda is a genuinely] Iraqi organization. He said that [Abu Ayub] Al-Masri had been rescued from arrest by an Arab intelligence apparatus using a diplomatic vehicle belonging to the Iranian Embassy… Salah Al-Din explained that as of late, Al-Qaeda in Iraq had considerably diminished in size - so much so that today it can be said to constitute 15 percent of what it was a year ago, [and that therefore, even] if Al-Qaeda has begun launching suicide operations, these [operations] are not proof of its strength…’”
Iran Wants to Eradicate Our Beliefs and to Change the Demography of the Sunni Regions, Particularly Baghdad
“[In conclusion,] Salah Al-Din stated, in the name of Hamas-Iraq: ‘The U.S. is our main enemy, but a more dangerous enemy is Iran. The U.S. wants [our] oil, and possibly it wants to establish military bases [on our soil], or to remain [in Iraq] for many years to come - while Iran wants to rule, [and] to eradicate and change [our] beliefs and ideas, [and] aspires to alter the demography of the Sunni regions, particularly Baghdad.’”
(MEMRI)
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The Arab vs Persian rivalry is well-known. Saddam used to say that there are three things that God should never have created: One was flies. the other was Persians…I don’t recall #3.
There is a great deal of anti-Persian sentiment in the Arab world. What Ham-ass says about the Iraniacs makes perfect sense when you consider the pan-arabic view of Sharia.
“The basic tenets of Sharia emanate with the assumption that Allah has chosen the believers (i.e., the Muslims) to rule the world. It might sound fascistic, but make no mistake: the Qur’an is absolutely determined to hand over the rule of the world to the followers of Islam: more specifically, to the Bedouin Arabs. Because Islam = Arabism. In the Qur’an (3:104, 3:110) Allah says that Arabs are the best of people ever created.” - Abul Kasem
If we leave Iraq too soon, the world will see this Persian-Arab schism as it really is on a much grander scale than Saddam’s war was.
Good article.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:30 pm