Jaysh al-Mujahideen Iraq- 3 December Statement And The Naqshbandi Army's Current Situation in Iraq
02 January 2014
By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Like Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna
and the Naqshbandi Army (JRTN), the Salafi Jaysh al-Mujahideen
joined in the series of denials of al-Hayat's report
of participating in a delegation to Washington to
discuss National Guard formation plans. Like JRTN,
Jaysh al-Mujahideen has also suffered at the expense
of the Islamic State's (IS) expansion, having been
forced to withdraw from al-Karma town (to the east of
Fallujah in Anbar province) in late August in the wake
of clashes with IS. Since that time, evidence of Jaysh
al-Mujahideen activity has become increasingly scarce,
though there are hints of ongoing operations on the
peripheries of Baghdad in areas such as al-Yusufiya to
the south. Meantime, in areas under IS domination such
as Mosul, Jaysh al-Mujahideen can only be thought to
have an underground presence, with an anti-IS
insurgent source more recently reporting the arrest of
a Jaysh al-Mujahideen leader in Mosul.
Statement (original here)
In
the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Statement denying what was reported among the lies in
the newspaper al-Hayat.
Thanks to God the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and
prayers be upon the our leader Muhammad and all his
family and companions. As for what follows:
How numerous are the 'reliable' sources the London
newspaper al-Hayat offers to its readers for insight,
and despite the fact that anyone who follows them must
know they repeatedly lie and are to be rejected, it is
nonetheless the case that some of these falsehoods
require a response to them and a need to prevent them
from creating a distorted picture especially for one
who is ignorant of the truth of their lies and the
disseminator's motives, with cutting off the path for
the one who hunts for these lies and promotes them.
Among the latest of the exposed falsehoods relate to a
'reliable' source for the newspaper in its report on a
delegation from the Sunni provinces visiting
Washington, that 'a number of the important armed
factions- not named- agreed on the idea of forming the
National Guard and joining it.' Then the newspaper
gave a reminder that these factions were represented
directly or indirectly in the delegation to
Washington, and mentioned from all the factions of
which it spoke the group of Jaysh al-Mujahideen.
Indeed we declare this news false, and denounce the
newspaper and its 'reliable' source as liars. And we
issue a warning again to whosoever stirs up falsehood
for himself against the group and slanders the jihad
of its sons, just as we warn whosoever adorns himself
with his demon of speaking in the name of the
group...Indeed the stances of the group regarding
these projects have been made perfectly clear and have
been announced, and these sorts of lies do not
disturb/alter them. So don't be deceived oh our people
by what the enemies adorn from projects whose original
intent and purpose are to strike the Ahl al-Sunna. And
the talk of establishing the 'National Guard' is
nothing but a new game intended to exploit the Ahl al-Sunna
as fuel for Iran's war on the Ahl al-Sunna and fodder
to implement America's plans, implicating them in an
internal war to distract them from liberating their
land from the evils of the Majus [Persian
Zoroastrians] and the Crusaders.
[...]
Media Committee of Jaysh al-Mujahideen.
11
Sufr 1436 AH
3
December 2014.
The Naqshbandi
Army's Current Situation in Iraq
Similar to Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna's 6 December
statement, the Ba'athist-Sufi Jaysh Rijal al-Tariqa
al-Naqshbandia ('Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi
Order'/JRTN/Naqshbandi Army) issued a statement on 2
December as part of a string of denials by Sunni
insurgent factions of participating in a delegation to
Washington to discuss 'National Guard' formation plans
under Iraqi PM Hayder al-Abadi. In this case, JRTN is
of particular interest as it has also been the
apparent target for outreach by outside powers in a
bid to build up a local Sunni force to fight the
Islamic State (IS). This is so because JRTN and its
wider network are considered to be the second most
powerful Sunni insurgent force in Iraq after IS, and
so could provide much needed manpower and experience.
Evidence of possible discussions between JRTN and the
international coalition against IS first emerged more
than a month ago, with a statement circulated on pro-JRTN
social media pages on this very matter, but not on
JRTN's official website (alnakshabandia.net). At the
same time, the statement in question was not
officially denied on the group's site, indicating that
it was most likely an internal communiqué. In this
communiqué, JRTN presents the outreach to its group by
the coalition as indicative of the desperation of 'the
enemy': "And it is from God Almighty's victory for us
that He has rendered our enemy humiliated and
submissive despite his haughtiness, forced to deal
with us as a resistance army, conceal their defeat and
salvage some of their interests. And this enemy has
known that there is no way to salvage its interests
except through the stability of Iraq and this
stability will not come about except through those who
have a place in the hearts of the Iraqi people like
our army [JRTN]."
JRTN's communiqué then lays out a number of demands of
negotiation (part direct translation, part condensed
summary here):
1.
The re-establishment of a non-sectarian, non-racist
political process whose business and reins (the
parliament and the three leaderships: president of the
republic, prime minister and the head of the
parliament) are presided over in entirety by Iraqi
nationalists known to the Iraqi people for their
nationalism and impartiality, not tainted in their
commitment and loyalty to Iraq and its people.
2.
That Iraq should be an independent state possessing
complete sovereignty...in its internal, external,
political, military and economic affairs with complete
freedom to write a new constitution without any
control or interference from a state or international
organization.
3.
To designate the National Alliance [main Shi'a
political bloc in Iraq] in all forms and associations
as a terrorist organization internationally, including
by the UN Security Council.
4.
Economic sanctions etc against the National Alliance
and all associates with referral to international
courts.
5.
The U.S. should take responsibility for all Iraqi
prisoners held in the prisons of the "racist,
sectarian, collaborationist government" and provide
appropriate compensation for their sufferings.
6.
The U.S. should issue an official apology to the Iraqi
people for all war crimes, stirring up of civil war,
division etc. committed up to this point vis-a-vis
Iraq.
7.
The rebuilding of Iraq for all the harm that has come
to it from the occupation and its supporters since 9
April 2003 [the fall of Baghdad to the U.S.-led
invasion].
8.
Compensating Iraq and Iraqis for losses incurred on
account of the occupation both in human and material
terms, such as theft of natural resources and damages
caused by military operations of the occupation
forces.
9.
Putting on trial those responsible for war crimes
against Iraq, financed 'enemy operations' through
media, industry or financial support, and those who
offered 'abstract support' and facilitated the
carrying out of those war crimes.
10. The U.S. should offer an official apology to JRTN
for crimes committed against JRTN, including the
slandering of its reputation in the media through
spreading of falsehoods.
11. The U.S. should compensate JRTN with regards to
10.
12. JRTN should be considered a national Iraqi
resistance army striving for the liberation of the
country, its independence, and leading the people to a
"more democratic and prosperous future." It is not a
sectarian or racist army etc.
These demands are non-starters for the international
coalition, even though they are framed in terms
acceptable to the wider international community (hence
the language of democracy, the apparent regard for the
authority of international bodies like the UN Security
Council etc.). The language is hardly unprecedented
for JRTN, which has previously referred to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in reference to
destruction of religious heritage sites and the like,
without mentioning IS by name but rather pinning these
crimes on the government in Baghdad. More familiar is
the superficial cross-sectarian image. The fact is
that JRTN remains devoted to the complete overthrow of
the current political system in Iraq (unacceptable to
the U.S. and its allies). Indeed there is no way the
National Alliance will ever be shunned and designated
terrorist by the wider international community.
Leaving aside the lack of viability of implementing
JRTN's demands, one must readily doubt JRTN's
narrative that the international coalition is
approaching JRTN out of 'desperation' in the face of
JRTN's supposed military successes. While JRTN can
celebrate the tide of 'revolution' all it wants,
little in the field has gone in its favour as regards
inherent competition with IS for influence. In the
three most important cases, JRTN had a known presence
in Fallujah, Mosul and Tikrit when these cities first
fell out of government control, but has subsequently
lost out to IS in all of them (rather than there being
a supposed 'alliance of convenience'), with members
either having fled, pledged allegiance, or having been
arrested/killed, such that at best JRTN has been
forced to go underground in these cities and lacks any
say in how they are run. Actual clashes between JRTN
and IS have also tended not to go in JRTN's favour,
with the most recent noted case reported around a
month ago in the Hawija area- traditionally an area of
strong JRTN influence (though IS controls the town of
Hawija). The result has been members of JRTN et al.
handing themselves over to the security forces in
Kirkuk province to escape IS' clutches, as claimed by
the head of the security committee of Kirkuk's
provincial council.
To
the extent that JRTN still maintains a viable military
presence, we can pinpoint JRTN activity in the main
following areas: the northern and western outskirts of
Baghdad (e.g. Abu Ghraib area), the peripheries of
Tikrit and Baiji, the al-Baghdadi district, the south
periphery of Fallujah area, and parts of Ramadi city
and the outskirts (e.g. mortars/rockets fired at the
8th Brigade army base) in Anbar province, the Balad,
Tuz and Yathrib districts in Salah ad-Din province,
and in the outback of some of the districts of Diyala
province like al-Uẓaim and al-Muqdadiya. The question
of how much cooperation there is with IS, if it exists
at all, remains uncertain, though I suspect that it is
similar to the Islamic Army in Iraq whose sources
readily admit to cooperation in the initial rapid wave
of government losses but affirm it dissipated in the
face of problems with IS. In any case, to reiterate
the earlier point, no notable cities or towns out of
government control have seen JRTN emerge as a
governing authority or influential political force in
any meaningful way (i.e. Tel Afar, Mosul, Hawija,
Tikrit, Shirqat, Baiji, Fallujah, al-Karma, al-Qa'im,
Rawa, Anah, Rutba, Hit).
In
short, things do not look all that great for JRTN, but
the aspirations for 'revolution' and conquest of
Baghdad continue. Below is a translation of the denial
of participation in a delegation to Washington, the
most recent statement on JRTN's official website. As
ever, JRTN plays on the notion of Iran as the real
threat and root problem, with no regard for the
problem of IS.
JRTN statement on the summoning of some of the
factions and tribal sheikhs to Washington.
Oh
dignified people of Iraq,
Oh
sons of our Arab Islamic Ummah,
Indeed America has failed in its program on which it
relied in Iraq in the creation of a so-called
superficial political process. By that, it wanted to
make the Iraqi people content with pseudo-democratic,
loathsome change through which there was the
cultivation of sectarian and racist chauvinism that
has no precedent in the history of Iraq, and after
this sweeping failure that afflicted America with the
collapse of its economy, the weakening of its
respected status, the fading of its influence, the
decline of its supremacy and retreat of its role as a
most great force championing democracy in the region,
Iran exploited this golden opportunity in the present
circumstance and thus developed its suspected military
nuclear program, widened its influence and extended
its agents in the region. So they promoted its
expansionist program in implementing its plan for
supremacy over the spirit of the global economy and
oil resources in the region and ArabGulf. And this Iranian influence
has become the real root cause of all forms of
sectarianism, racism and expansionism at the expense
of the security, stability and interests of the
international community. And America continues to
stumble in its delusions, and has been repeating its
mistakes in trying to alleviate the problems that have
resulted from its failed policies in Iraq and the
region.
We
turn the sights of our Iraqi people to this manifest
American stumbling and its dual dealing of one measure
with two. For on the one hand it is claiming to
achieve a balance in the security apparatus to ensure
stability in Iraq and its new project, resorting to
the use of another plan that is no less harmful to the
interests of the Iraqi people and international
interests than before- that is, the attempt to
incorporate some faction and sheikhs of the tribes
into the formation of the so-called National Guard and
deceive the Iraqi people with delusions of cheap,
temporary profit with the creation of a balance built
on sectarianism and racism in the security apparatus
and on the pretext of the war on terrorism [emphasis
in original]. On the other hand, there is its
unlimited support politically, economically and
militarily for a sectarian, racist alliance embodied
in the so-called National Alliance: sectarian and
racist whose absolute loyalty is to Iran and which is
implementing Iran's expansionist agenda in the region
and world, as well as cultivating terrorism in all its
forms [emphasis in original]. Thus we make clear the
following:
1.
The danger of this project lies in melting and
dissolving the soul of the true Iraqi Resistance, and
a sinister attempt to break its will and tame it to
accept crumbs at the expense of squandering the rights
of the Iraqi people for whose sake the resistance was
launched and represented in the liberation of Iraq and
safeguard its unity, security, stability, sovereignty
and independence.
2.
The true problem in Iraq lies in the fact that the
Iraqi people have been usurped of their rights, and
were America truly intent on solving Iraq's problem,
it would work to solve it at its roots by giving all
the Iraqis their usurped rights in their entirety and
not deficient form. And it would work to cease its
double dealing between the war on terrorism on one
hand and its support and cultivation of terrorism on
the other at the same time, and thus will the
stability of Iraq be realized. As for resorting to
these sorts of suspicious solutions, it is confusing
documentation, complicating the Iraqi scene,
prolonging the Iraqi people's suffering, perpetuating
sectarianism and racism, division and separation, and
expanding Iran's sectarian influence at the expense of
Iraq's interest and the interests of the international
community.
3.
On this subject JRTN resolutely denies what the
newspaper al-Hayat published on 2 Kanun al-Awal
[December] 2014 claiming the participation of our army
in an Iraqi delegation including tribal leaders,
representatives of armed factions, and government
officials summoned by Washington to discuss the idea
of forming the so-called National Guard and joining
it.
4.
We call on the sons of our Iraqi people not be taken
and drawn into these sorts of suspicious projects and
patchy solutions that serve the interest of the
enemies of Iraq, and only to be content with the
restoration of their rights in complete, not deficient
form- through liberating Iraq and bringing about its
unity, independence, sovereignty, security and
stability. And we affirm to the sons of our people
that our army JRTN has not participated and will not
participate in these sorts of suspicious projects, and
will only accept the Iraqi people's obtaining all
their usurped rights in complete, not deficient form.
We
pledge to God, His Messenger and our Iraqi people to
continue on the path of liberating Iraq from all forms
of occupation, subordination, sectarianism and racism,
including its unity, independence, sovereignty,
security and stability. And God is the guarantor of
success.
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