The Islamic State of Iraq
and al-Sham: Is it a Sunni Arab push to create
a new Muslim caliphate, or
a Trojan Horse created by Iran, America and
Israel to trigger a
global sectarian war among Muslims? This screen grab
is from a video by the now-dead
Anwar Awlaki, an American citizen killed
in a U.S. drone attack. Awlaki was an al-Qaeda spokesman.
The ISIS - An 'American-Zionist-Iranian Device' (Kitabat, Iraq)
"Notice how the goal is the same in both Iraq and Syria: to
stir sectarian war. And notice that backers of both wars are also the same: the
Iranians and Americans. ... The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is an American-Zionist-Iranian
device that seeks to usher us into a sectarian world war - beginning in Iraq
and Syria. ... Allah save Iraq and its people and protect them from this filthy
sectarian war, and defeat those who promote it, stir it, and light its fires."
A gunman with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, an al-Qaeda-affiliated organization, on the outskirts of Fallujah, the capital of al-Anbar Province, Jan. 19. ISIS, which is fighting to create a Muslim caliphate out of western Iraq and eastern Syria, is at war with the Iraqi and Syrian governments, which has sought U.S. support for driving the terrorists out. There are those who believe ISIS, and al-Qaeda for that matter, are creations of those who claim to be fighting against it - the U.S., Iran and Israel. Could ISIS be a tool for creating animosity between Sunnis and Shiites?
The
phrase "sectarian war" is not mine. Before it was uttered by Prime
Minister Nouri Maliki, I hadn't heard it. Maliki used
it before launching his military assault on the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS) in the al-Anbar desert. While
he addressed crowds in the rebellious province's sit-in squares, he fired off
several remarks revealing the mission of his military campaign against the ISIS,
telling the people in the squares that are being led by al-Qaeda and ISIS
affiliated leaders; that the war is being fought between
descendants of Hussain and Yazid [referring to
the cause of the original breach between Sunnis and Shiites,
triggered by the 7th century succession debate after the death of the Prophet
Muhammad]; and directly addressing the crowds, saying that a sea of blood lies
between “you and us.”
These
statements were sufficient to stir up instability and frighten people across
Iraq. Laying behind them was the deliberate intention to quickly trigger a sectarian
civil war. Maliki's startled political opponents rejected these sectarian and
reprehensible statements, which may well lead the country into the abyss of sectarian
civil war. Most prominent among them are leader of the Sadrist
Movement Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the al-Iraqiyya
bloc IyadAllawi, [Iraqi Front for National Dialogue leader] Saleh al-Mutlaq, and others. What is behind these statements, why
are they being made now, and what will their repercussions be for Iraq and the
region?
To
start with, one cannot overlook Maliki's visits to both the White House and
Tehran, from which he failed to win approval of a third term. It is noteworthy
that the military attack on the ISIS and al-Anbar was
prepared directly after the two unsuccessful visits. What else could he do but
blow up the situation and steer the country away from preparations for the upcoming
parliamentary elections, which will confirm his failure to secure a third term thanks
to his own Shiite coalition's insistence that he be absolutely excluded?
Given
his escalating crises with political opponents, particularly the Sadrist Movement and the Kurdistan Alliance [DPAK], Maliki has no option but to return the
country to the furnace of civil war - a war blessed by the Obama Administration
and supported by aircraft, missiles, etc. It is blessed, too, by Tehran, which is
making all needed military and political preparations for a sectarian war and
intervention (remarks by Iranian leaders expressing a willingness to
participate in the war against the ISIS in Iraq make this obvious).
So off to al-Anbar Maliki goes, leaving his desert war with the ISIS behind
him, and pouring scorn on the people of al-Anbar,
disturbing the same wasp's nest as the American invaders. A few days ago, one U.S.
Army commander said that Maliki will lose the war in al-Anbar
"as we did." Consequently the people of al-Anbar
in Ramadi, Fallujah, Qaiem,
Ratbeh, Saqlawiyyah, Karmeh, Hadithah, Mashahdeh, Tarmeyyah, AbiGharieb, and other
constituencies and districts, have revolted against Maliki's forces.
War has
broken out in the constituencies and districts of al-Anbar,
Karkouk, Ninawa and Diala Provinces. It has transformed from a war against the ISIS
to a civil war, which is precisely what Maliki wanted: a war between the descendants
of Hussain and Yazid - without
providing a clue as to who the descendants of Hussain
or Yazid are in this filthy damned war.
Like it or
not, this is the situation in Iraq. The proof can be found in the sectarian
provocations offered via satellite TV by both sides. It is the same state of
affairs as is occurring in Syria, where a civil war is being waged between Iran
and its Revolutionary Guard, its Iraqi militias, Lebanese Hezbullah, and the
army of Bashar al-Assad, against the Free Syrian Army, the Islamic Front and the al-Nusra Front. Notice how the
goal is the same in both Iraq and Syria: to stir sectarian war. And notice that
backers of both wars are also the same: the Iranians and Americans.
What remains to
bringing about Maliki's sectarian war are declarations by neighboring Gulf countries
(a joint military command),
Turkey, and the dormant terrorist cells sponsored by Iran, which can be
activated as needed, like those responsible for bombings in Lebanon and Russia,
after which ISIS took responsibility.
Is it a
coincidence that Iran stands after the scandalous disclosure of its support,
training and supervision of the Saudi, Majed al-Majed, leader of Abdullah Azzam
Organization? Are the features of this war and those behind it clear? I doubt
any informed observer would claim there is an Arab ISIS. True, there are
fanatical Islamic organizations, but the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is an
American-Zionist-Iranian device that seeks to usher us into a sectarian world war
- beginning in Iraq and Syria. Will Maliki's prophecy come true? The events
taking place in the provinces, constituencies and districts of al-Anbar, Ninwa, Diala,
Baghdad, and Karkouk will tell.
Allah save
Iraq and its people and protect them from this filthy sectarian war, and defeat
those who promote it, stir it, and light its fires.
