TIME: Uniting to
Resist?
Monday, August 16, 2004
By MICHAEL WARE
Intense fighting broke out last week between U.S.
troops, backed by Iraqi forces, and fighters loyal to
the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But while
al-Sadr's Mahdi militia represents a serious threat
to Iraq's stability, an equally vexing challenge to
Iraqi order is taking shape in the Sunni
Muslim-dominated area northwest of Baghdad, where
Sunni terrorists, Baathists and nationalists are
thriving.
These resistance groups have so far cooperated only
erratically, when it suits their needs. But insurgent
sources tell TIME that elements in the resistance,
especially jihadis who have ties to al-Qaeda, are
pushing to unite the area's disparate militants under
a single command. The insurgents are working through
a loose assembly of leaders known as Mujahedin Shura,
often translated as "supreme council of the
mujahedin." This informal group, which meets
occasionally to share intelligence and tactical tips,
already has a defense minister, an army chief and an
operations commander of sorts. At recent meetings,
insurgent leaders--including Iraqi nationalists,
Baathists and sundry Sunni extremists--have debated
streamlining their activities under a single leader.
According to several sources involved in the
movement, Syrian intelligence agents in the area, who
have helped arm the groups and aided their propaganda
campaigns, have also been participating in the
debate.
But the resistance has its divisions--at least in
part because jihadist leaders allied to
al-Qaeda-linked Jordanian terrorist Abu Mousab
al-Zarqawi, a proponent of the unified command, seem
to be trying to take control. Militant sources tell
TIME that their rise has alienated some insurgents,
especially the Baathists and nationalists, who resent
the influence of foreigners. Whoever wins, the more
disturbing development is that some Iraqi jihadis,
hoping to take their fight beyond Iraq's borders, are
threatening to launch a terrorist campaign in the
U.S. "If America continues to shield its people from
the truth," says an al-Zarqawi loyalist, "we shall
transport the battle to where their public cannot but
see it."