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Length: 3:26
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: One
insurgent group in Iraq, excuse me, says it wants to
negotiate with U.S. forces, a spokesman for the
Islamic Army of Iraq. Let's take a look at the
videotape here. As you can see, his face is obscured.
This video, by the way, obtained on Sunday by CNN.
Well on this tape he lays out the set of conditions
that would end the group's participation in the
insurgency.
Let's get right to CNN's Michael Ware. He's in
Baghdad this morning.
Hey, Michael, good morning.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning,
Soledad.
Yes, what we have is this taped response from CNN's
questions forwarded through known Islamic Army of
Iraq channels. What we see on tape is purported to be
Ibrahim al-Shimary, the official spokesman of this
group.
Now this group comes from and indeed is one of the
leading members of one of the most powerful blocs
within the insurgency. And at a time with spiraling
violence and an increasing death toll among U.S.
soldiers and Iraqis, we have the Iraqi -- the Islamic
Army of Iraq reiterating its offer to negotiate with
U.S. forces. This, as we lead into the midterm
elections.
The spokesman also talked about the nature of the
insurgency with rare insight into the structure of
his organization and the role of al Qaeda. But he
also speaks about one of the great motivating factors
behind the Sunni insurgency, saying that a byproduct
of the U.S. occupation is an entrenching of Iranian
influence in Iraq, a deep-seated fear of the Sunnis,
and now a driving force sustaining the insurgency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IBRAHIM AL-SHIMARY, ISLAMIC ARMY OF IRAQ (through
translator): America and Iran have occupied Iraq.
America is the disease that caused the infection
which is the Iranian occupation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: He also brings a reality check with regards to
the sectarian violence here in Iraq, saying that his
faction of the insurgency is not directly opposed to
the Shia; however, they will respond if attacked.
It's a very, very savvy interview by this spokesman,
displaying a keen awareness of domestic American
politics -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: At the same time, Michael, this group,
which is the Islamic Army of Iraq, how big are they?
I mean, and to what degree would negotiating,
realistically, with one insurgent group make a
difference with all the insurgent groups that are
operating in Iraq right now?
WARE: Well, this is a very key organization. It comes
from a broad alliance of Sunni insurgent groups which
represents part of the main body of the Sunni
insurgency.
Now, as we all know, al Qaeda is responsible for the
spectacular suicide bombings and has led the way in
inflaming the sectarian violence, yet the daily
drip-feed of attacks against U.S. forces and against
Iraqi security force allies is carried out by the
Sunni insurgents, former Ba'athists, former members
of Saddam's military and security apparatus. Now this
group represents an alliance of that body of the
insurgency. And to back it up, they have also
provided us rather graphic and rare footage of their
operations against U.S. forces -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware for us this morning.
Thanks, Michael. He's reporting from Baghdad.
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Length: 0:36
MILES O'BRIEN: Here's a
look at what CNN correspondents all around the world
are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN
CORRESPONDENT: This is Michael Ware in Baghdad.
A key faction of the Sunni insurgency has reiterated
its call to negotiate or open dialogue with U.S.
forces. In a videotaped question and answer with CNN,
the spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq says the
group is prepared to talk with U.S. commanders. The
spokesman, Ibrahim al-Shimary, also discusses the
role of al Qaeda in the country, the sectarian
violence in Iraq, and the nature of the Sunni
insurgency.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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photo to play
Length:2:51
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: One
insurgent group in Iraq says it wants to negotiate
with U.S. forces. A spokesman for the Islamic Army of
Iraq -- if we take the videotape here, you can see
that he's covered up his face in the video. And this
video was obtained on Sunday by CNN. This spokesman
spells out a set of conditions that would end the
group's participation in the insurgency. Let's get
right to CNN's Michael Ware. He's in Baghdad for us.
Michael, good morning.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning,
Soledad.
Yes, we've had a very rare opportunity to gain access
to the Islamic Army of Iraq insurgent organization.
This is the leading insurgent group among a broad
faction of the insurgency responsible for many of the
attacks against U.S. forces. We effectively were able
to conduct an interview with the spokesman of this
group by forwarding questions and having that
videotaped response come back.
Now, it's fascinating stuff. Here in this month,
October, only 16 days old, already at least 49 U.S.
deaths, with a rising death count against Iraqi
civilians and security forces as well, as we see the
Ramadan offensive. Here he comes out and says with a
lead-up to the midterm elections reiterates the
group's offer to hold negotiations or discussions
with U.S. forces.
He also gives us a window into the structure of his
organization and the role of al Qaeda in the
insurgency. He also gives a reality check on the
sectarian violence, all throughout making many very
savvy American cultural references from the Vietnam
War, to Watergate, to President Bush's "mission
accomplished" statement.
But he also talked about one of the motivating
factors behind the Sunni insurgency, and that's fear
of Iranian interference. He says very clearly to CNN
that a byproduct of the U.S. occupation is the
entrenchment of Iranian influence here in Iraq. And
he says this is one of the major motivating forces
that is sustaining the insurgency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IBRAHIM AL-SHIMARY (through translator): America and
Iran have occupied Iraq. America is the disease that
caused the infection, which is the Iranian
occupation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: So this is a very, very savvy address to the
people of America. So in this interview, we hear this
key insurgent group talking directly to the people of
America, asking them to question President Bush's
record on Iraq. He certainly vows that the insurgency
is going nowhere, yet reiterates the chance to
discuss what effectively would be cease-fire or peace
talks.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware for us in Baghdad. Thanks,
Michael.