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04-07-2007, 07:21 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Military Professional
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Join Date: 02-23-05
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Red on Red Rhetoric
More infighting within the Sunni insurgency.
Quote:
The Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) issued a lengthy statement today on its affiliated websites (see IAI's official website and Al-Buraq Forum, both in Arabic) under the title ‘The Islamic Army of Iraq’s Response to the Speeches of Brother Abu Omar al-Baghdadi’ that amounts to a vicious rhetorical counterattack against Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq and its recent statements and actions.
This communiqué came a day after Sheikh Hamid al-Ali issued a fatwa (Arabic) casting doubts over the validity of giving allegiance to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq (ISI); this religious edict has sent jihadist forums abuzz with recriminations between supporters of Al-Qaeda and its detractors. Al-Ali is one of the more influential jihadist theologians, and he’s based in Kuwait. He goes as far as saying that Al-Qaeda should retract its declaration of the ISI and that it is unprecedented in Islam to give allegiance to an anonymous ‘Imam’ who holds no sway over territory. (Side note: Al-Ali regularly writes poetry hailing the killing of Americans in Iraq; Kuwait was liberated by American soldiers. Al-Ali, to my knowledge, doesn’t get hassled by the Kuwaiti authorities; Why is that?)
The IAI’s communiqué begins with a very long preamble explaining the IAI’s principles, which I have chosen not to translate. I translated some excerpts (see below) of what I believe are the important new developments brought about by this communiqué and I chose to leave out all the religious references to the Koran and Islamic tradition that are employed by the statement to anchor its points.
This is the first time, as the statement makes clear, that the IAI have openly expressed their disapproval of Al-Qaeda’s rhetoric and actions, and they didn’t want to do that earlier because it would have hurt the cause of jihad, the IAI says.
It is interesting that the IAI (the communiqué is not attributed to any individual or body within the IAI) never mentions the words ‘Islamic State of Iraq’ or its predecessor, the Shura Council of the Mujaheddin, and chooses to refer to al-Baghdadi’s organization as ‘Al-Qaeda’; they’re calling it as it is, which is more than can be said about the U.S. media (see my column, Blackout of the Media, which also gives some background on the ISI and its timeline. I’ve also speculated about al-Baghdadi’s real identity here). They also never refer to any honorific titles when addressing al-Baghdadi (…referred to simply as ‘Abu Omar’) and al-Muhajir (…referred to as ‘Abu Hamza’); they are deliberately being rude.
The IAI is responding to al-Baghdadi’s Third Speech (released on March 13, 2007) and they address several points or accusations in this speech that the IAI feels is directed against it: collaborating with the Mossad, being in Saudi Arabia’s pay, and negotiating with the Americans. It’s important to read al-Baghdadi’s speech beforehand to get a feel for all the points being made by the IAI.
The IAI also addresses some leaps taken by al-Baghdadi such as labeling other jihadists who have not pledged allegiance to him as seditionists, and beginning to terrorize them into submission. (I’ve written about this in my column from last month, Jihadist Meltdown)
The chief point of the IAI’s statement is made towards the end: the grown-ups of Al-Qaeda need to reign in their adolescents who are running amok in Iraq and ruining the jihad. The IAI appeals to Osama Bin Laden to reassert ideological and organizational control and authority over the branch of his franchise operating under the name ‘Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia’ and warns that if corrective steps are not taken then great harm will befall the jihadist venture in Iraq.
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Read more at Talisman Gate بـاب الطلــسم: Islamic Army of Iraq Lambasts Al-Qaeda, Al-Baghdadi.
__________________
"So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3
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