US and Iraqi insurgent group has begun negotiations

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2006/October/focusoniraq_October102.xml§ion=focusoniraq&col=

Iraq rebels say they will only negotiate with US
(AFP)

16 October 2006



KIRKUK, Iraq - Masked nationalist insurgents in Iraq told AFP they have begun talks with US forces, after a weekend meeting of Sunni tribal sheikhs called for the restoration of ousted leader Saddam Hussein.

In the northern oil city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi calling himself Abdel Rahman Abu Khula said his movement, a group of former Baath party officials and army officers known as the Islamic Army, would not meet the Iraqi government.

“In reality, we only negotiate with the ruling power in Iraq and that is the occupier,” he said. “Today it is us and the Americans who are controlling the situation in Iraq.”

A US military spokesman had no immediate comment on the claim, which AFP cannot independently verify.

[rodeodance]

1. who said we do not negotiate with terrorists.

[rodeodance]

2. interesting-they are dissing their own elected government.

....
“In reality, we only negotiate with the ruling power in Iraq and that is the occupier,” he said. “Today it is us and the Americans who are controlling the situation in Iraq.”

[NNN0LHI]

3. They appear to be pragmatists n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

5. They didn't elect it.

The sunnis were effectively disenfranchised by the imposed government structure. They never signed on to it, completely boycotted the first election, and only halfheartedly participated in the second.

But more importantly, they are simply stating the obvious. The 'Iraqi government' is a fiction. The ruling authority is the occupying american army.

[Boo Boo]

6. These guys are the original Baath Party insurgency that never

surrendered. They have never recognized any of the post-invasion governments. They have always used the formulation, as above, that they'll only negotiate with Americans, as the U.S. is the ruling power. It is their way of refusing to recognize any developments in government since the fall of Saddam.

There was Saddam, then there was us. All agreements, laws, etc. entered in to by the CPA or the current government are void. They won't accept any of it unless they work out an agreement with us. They want us to cram their demands down the throats of the Shia.

This isn't the first time we've negotiated with them. Nothing seems to have come of it in the past, but perhaps impending political doom for Republicans has put Bush in a negotiating mood. If he could get the backbone of the Insurgency to agree to join the government, or quit fighting, that would give him something to crow about. Light at the end of the tunnel.

Or, maybe they are discussing the James Baker group's plan that we don't get to hear about until after the election---partitioning Iraq or something like that. I don't think they'll go for partition though, unless they get a guarantee of Oil revenues. We'll probably find out some day that's all they've wanted for two years now, but Dirty Dick would rather see dead American soldiers if it meant letting Sunnis carve off a chunk of those profits.

[rodeodance]

4. look at the reason they give (for US to talk to them):

........Abu Khula said his group represents some 17 nationalist insurgent organizations, and is seeking the withdrawal of US forces and the release of detainees from US and Iraqi government prisons.

“The Americans have now decided to talk with us due to the escalation of our heroic deeds and the development of our explosives technology for use against their vehicles and bases,” he claimed.

There have been repeated rumours about contacts between the Iraqi government or US forces and the more nationalist elements of the insurgency, but no US official has ever confirmed talks with armed Baathists.

Abu Khula was at pains to distance his group, which is made up of largely secular former regime elements, from Islamist insurgent outfits such as Al Qaeda and Ansar Al Sunna, which are known for attacks targeting civilians.