Iraqi Religious War Against
U.S. Troops?
Guerrilla Leader Arms Supporters for
Struggle
April 23, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
A guerrilla leader once hostile to Saddam Hussein is now arming his followers in preparation for a possible struggle against U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
Abdul Asis al-Hakim is purchasing arms at so rapid a rate that he is "driving up the price for military weapons" in the south Iraqi city of Basra, according to the German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel.
Al-Hakim's activities occur as millions of Muslims participate in the pilgrimage to the city of Kerbela, a ritual long forbidden under the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Virulent anti-American sentiments have erupted during the pilgrimage.
Al-Hakim, however, will not seek to attack U.S. troops alone, but awaits help. "According to rumors, Hakim is building an armed militia…preparing for the arrival of his brother," reported Der Spiegel.
The brother of Abdul al-Hakim is the Shiite religious - and military - leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim.
Ayatollah al-Hakim is an ardent opponent of U.S. rule of Iraq, and recently declared that the "dominance of Iraq by the USA is no better than the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein," and has "openly threatened to send armed fighters into the struggle in Iraq [from neighboring Iran]," reported Der Spiegel.
Ayatollah al-Hakim is the leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), an organization based in Iran which for years has waged a guerrilla struggle against Saddam Hussein's regime. Ayatollah al-Hakim fled to Iran in 1980.
The guerrilla forces of the SCIRI are estimated at eight to ten thousand fighters.
Ayatollah al-Hakim is one of the most influential leaders among Iraq's Shiite majority, while the SCIRI holds a central position among anti-Saddam organizations. The January 2003 London conference of Iraqi opposition leaders gave the SCIRI control of relations between the various anti-Saddam groups.
Among Iraqi opposition groups before Saddam's fall, the SCIRI had the largest and most active guerrilla organization.
Even before the London conference, Ayatollah al-Hakim stated his opposition to the U.S., declaring that, "We do not put confidence in the Americans," and reported in the right-of-center French news daily, Le Figaro.
Ayatollah al-Hakim advocates a fundamentalist Islamic government similar to that of Iran, and is "the leader of the movement for an Islamic revolution in Iraq striving for a government on the model of Iran," stated Der Spiegel.
The administration of President George W. Bush stated that the United States would not tolerate an Iran-style theocracy.
Copyright 2003
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