Iraq: The Resistance Speaks

[This is exactly the kind of murder/suicide that was foreseen when the US/UK invaders got sucked into a Battle of Algiers-style urban warfare--an over-extended occupation the sole purpose of which seems to be the destruction of as much of the country, its resources and its people as can be achieved while a terrified Western public cowers behind fake Xmas trees, mewling its insipid prayers of support. History has shown that such a Resistance, founded in a real defense of the nation, cannot be defeated, but only deferred by a great expenditure of life and treasure. This inevitable success of the Iraqi Resistance will certainly be expedited by the opening of second fronts in the imperialist countries. All Power to the National Defenses against Foreign Occupations Everywhere! And Death to the Imperialists, their Lackies and All Their Running Dogs!--mc]


Iraq: The Resistance Speaks



General Abu Al Mu'tassim is a General in the Iraqi Republican Guard, a
Ba'ath Party official and a commander in the Iraqi resistance. He spoke to
the Jordanian weekly Al Majd about the real state of the resistance in
Iraq in October.



How Do You See The State Of The Armed Resistance After 18 Months Of US
Occupation?



We are very satisfied indeed concerning the reality of the resistance and
its results on the ground. In fact the resistance has become a reality
nobody can ignore.



We can speak about the Resistance in two ways.



First in Iraqi terms: the resistance has spread and it has complete
control over a great number of Iraqi towns. What is happening in
Fallujah, Samara, Qaem, Baquba, Hawijah, Talafar, Hit, Saqlawyia, Ramadi,
Anah, Rawa, Haditha, Balad, Beiji, Bahraz, Baladruz, and other cities and
towns of Iraq, show that this is true. The resistance also totally
controls some parts of Baghdad and its suburbs such as Yusufya, Latifya,
Abu Ghraib, and Mahmudya, which shows the political and the security
impasse encountered by the occupiers and their agents. Here we must
mention the widespread popular support the resistance enjoys in these
areas and elsewhere, providing cover to all Iraqi resistance fighters in
the confrontation with the enemy.



Secondly in US terms: the US administration is no longer able to conceal
its losses, which are growing as days pass by. Iraqis know the volume of
these losses; they are always capable to increase them. After this rapid
and summary lecture on the reality o f the Iraqi resistance, I can say
that we are very confident about the future. What we planned before the
occupation has been achieved on the ground in a good way. This shows the
correctness of the long-term vision of Iraq's political and military Iraqi
leadership that formed the resistance and started its fire.



Many resistance operations go unreported by the mainstream media. Who do
you think is responsible for that?



Now we must make a distinction between the necessity of continuing
resistance operations and the need to publicise these actions. Our mission
is to find ways and means to continue strong and punitive resistance
operations. As far as reporting to the media goes, it's none of our
business.



I would like to tell you something. In the past we did make some videos of
major resistance operations and gave them to a few Arab satellite
channels. But they didn't air them because of the occupier's censorship
and because of the shady connections of between these media outlets and
the US administration. The media problem concerns the political branch of
the resistance, and I think the Baath Party Information and Publication
Political Bureau fulfils its mission in the very best way, playing its
part in publishing the political vision of the resistance. The fact that
these resistance operations go unreported doesn't effect our morale,
because we witness the consequences of these operations on the behaviour
and the attitude of the occupying forces with our own eyes.



How Many Military Operations Does The Resistance Undertake In A Single Day?



We are not mad about numbers. None of us has the time to count or to
calculate them. But I would like to stress here that the valiant heroes of
the resistance undertake their operations around the clock, day and night
and over the entire country! We did hear from the media that these
operations average a 100 a day. I would like here to say that this number
is not completely accurate. In fact the number is far higher.



Is There Any Military Cooperation Between The Iraqi Resistance Factions?



I sense some kind of doubt in your question! But I would like to say is
that what is going in Iraq - the heroic resistance - can't just be the
deeds of some groups or few angry chaps who have no connections with each
other. It is a highly and very well organised movement. There is a unified
military leadership, which leads the operations on the ground in every
town of Iraq. This leadership includes the best officers of the Iraqi
army, the security and intelligence services, the Republican Guard, and
the Saddam Fedayeen. What is happening in the provinces of al Anbar,
Diyala, Mosul, and Salah el Din, Babel and elsewhere is a sure sign of
what I am telling you. The military leadership in the field is directly
responsible to all the Resistance factions and their Mujahideen in the
area, be they Baathist, Islamist, or other honourable patriots, who
compose the body of the military resistance in Iraq.



I'm not divulging a secret when I tell you that there is a unified
military high command, which supervises the direction of the resistance in
all Iraq. This command includes outstandingly qualified Iraqi military and
intelligence personnel, and with them there is a representative of the
political branch of the Baath Party, connecting the military and the
political leadership with each other.



Yes there is coordination between the factions of the Resistance. It is a
highly responsible, professional, and a high quality coordination
safeguarding the ranks of the resistance from being penetrated by the
enemy. We recently witnessed a resurgence of hostage- taking in Iraq. Is
the resistance involved in this? And why does it do it?



First of all we would like to confess that the resistance is not
responsible for every kidnapping in Iraq. But we do not absolve ourselves
from such operations. We have warned Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners many
times against cooperating with the occupation forces because this will
make them a target.



All resistance factions will arrest occupation army spies and
collaborators. In this field the Resistance has a clear agenda. Our
demands are political and military ones which serve the interest of Iraq
and its people. Some of these demands were met in the past such as the
withdrawal of the Filipino forces from Iraq.



Also we would like to make it clear to world public opinion that that the
occupation forces and their agents in Iraq kidnap people themselves to
tarnish the image of the resistance. They collaborate with hostage-taking
criminal gangs.



We are confident that our Iraqi people and the Arab world are able to
distinguish between what the resistance is doing and what is undertaken by
the agents of the occupation. We never undertake any action unless we have
precise information, thus minimising any errors and if we find anyone who
has been wrongly captured, they will be freed immediately. In fact various
resistance factions freed many of the hostages kidnapped by evil gangs and
occupation agents.



On this occasion we would like to ask our extended family in Jordan and in
the rest of the Arab world to avoid collaborating with the occupation
forces, and to limit their cooperation to aid for the Iraqi people.



Alawi's government and occupation forces were able to neutralise the Sadr
current, taking him out of the battlefield. How Will This Influence The
Continuation And The Growing Iraqi Resistance?



Our Resistance against the occupation started long before what is called
the Sadr current, that is why it will not be affected by the removal of
this current from the battlefield, even though we regret their departure
in such a humiliating way. But let me clarify one important thing, which
may be unknown to our Arab brothers. What happened between Muqtada al Sadr
and Alawi puppet government was, in the first place, a political deal
which has been exploited by the occupation forces to destroy the standing
of al Sadr and his group.



Not all of Sadr's people accepted this agreement. And those who went to
sell their arms were not all Sadr followers.



Alawi's puppet government and the dishonourable parties such as the Dawa
party and the al-Hakim group mobilised their elements to sell their arms
in the name of Sadr group to undermine this current in the eyes of Iraqi
and Arab public opinion.



This of course doesn't prevent us saying that Mu
qtada al Sadr and the ones
who were authorised to speak in his name are a group of morons with no
political awareness. They were drawn into a stinking enterprise to back
the occupation, period! We do assert that there are a large number of
supporters of this current who have nothing to do with this game, and they
continue to support the resistance as an act of patriotism.



A Year And Half After The Occupation, What Are Occupation Forces Weak
Points, Seen Through Your Experience?



The Resistance fighters are the masters of the Iraqi street. This is a
reality well known to everyone in touch with the Iraqi affairs. I don't
exaggerate if I say that the occupation's soldiers hope never to leave
their fortified positions. They think that they are strong when using
their jets. But these jets can't go everywhere, and in direct
confrontation we feel the cowardice with which the occupiers behave. This
has become clear from the random shooting they excel in, with or without
reason. As for the traitors who came with the occupiers' tanks, they also
are hiding and never quit their fortified burrows.



Do You Feel Confident Concerning The Continuation of The Resistance?



Everybody can be reassured that we are able to take on the fight for long
years, but the occupation will not live that long. The political and the
military command have provided us with enough arms and ammunition, which
you can find all over Iraq.



Have You Given The Iraqi Citizen A Political Programme Concerning Your
Vision of The Future?



This is none of our business. The political programme is the business of
the political branch of the resistance, that is the Ba'ath Party
leadership which has published a clear political programme that covers our
actions. Those who put the resistance objectives in doubt are the same
people who speak about political programmes but turn a blind eye to the
Baath Party programme, which has been accepted by all the resistance
parties.