Leader of Baathist loyalists cites stringent conditions before any talks

[Barrett808]

DAMASCUS, Syria: A top spokesman for the former Baath party of Iraq said in a recent interview that his group will not reconcile with the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad nor stop its active support of the insurgency unless the Iraqi government and U.S. officials first meet strict conditions including the withdrawal of American troops.

The interview with the man who identified himself as Abu Mohammed came after repeated efforts by The Associated Press to make contact in Syria with supporters of the insurgency in Iraq.

The man, who appeared in person at the interview, is believed to be Khudair al-Murshidi, a former head of the Iraqi Doctors Syndicate under the rule of Saddam Hussein. He refused to give his real name during the interview and also refused to be photographed but said he was in Syria temporarily while on his way to other Mideast countries to advance the party's goals.

...

Abu Mohammed said he is now the official spokesman for what he called the Iraqi Regional Command of the Baath, headed by Izzat Ibrahim, Saddam's former vice president and a fugitive with a $10 million bounty on his head, believed the top leader of Saddam loyalists.

...

"Our program is to liberate Iraq .. We are fighting the Americans because they have occupied Iraq, while al-Qaida has a different program. They want to kill the Americans in Washington and any where in the world," he said. He said the al-Qaida linked extremists regarded his group as atheists.

(more)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/03/africa/ME_GEN_Syria_Baathists_Regroup.php

[Kagemusha]

1. This is almost funny. It's like lying with the truth.

What he says about the difference between his group and Al-Qaeda is quite literally correct. Al-Qaeda sees them as apostates, translated from the original Arabic which means 'dead man walking'. (I'm kidding. Sort of.) Now whether he speaks for Ibrahim is anyone's guess. He also fails to mention that if the US pulls out of Iraq, that allows them to negotiate with the "US-backed" government from a position of much greater strength. There'll be no negotiations with the US. Why bother? Once the US is gone, what's there to talk about?