Iraqi Nationalists Leaving the Government
The attack on the Iraqi parliament was very strange. I don't think it was a suicide bomber. Take a look at this video and note that the explosion is way bigger than what an explosive belt would do. Besides, why would anyone blow himself up to kill the only anti-occupation group in the greenzone?
The official spokesman of a secular group that lost an MP in the explosion announced that the attack was aimed at silencing "nationalist MPs who are against splitting
iraq and against the oil law".Looking at who was killed and injured in the attack, it seems like they were ALL nationalists. Also, considering that the parliament was just about to begin debating the oil law this week, the timing of the attack was very convenient for the bush/imf/separatists.
Nationalist Sunni, Shia, and secular groups have been clearly against the new oil law. Shia groups like Al-Sadr and Al-Fadhila Party (Virtue Party) and Sunni groups like the People of Iraq's council (majles ahl al-iraq), national dialogue council (majles al-hiwar) and secular groups like the National Dialogue Front (jabhat al-hiwar), liberation and reconciliation front (jabhat elmosalaha wattahrir) and others have all spoken out against the law and the consequences it would have for Iraq's unity and sovereignty. Other groups such as the Iraqi list (al-qaemah al-iraqiah) and the two dawa parties were a little bit confused about the law. Such nationalist groups are also against splitting Iraq into three regions, and against keeping the occupation forces in Iraq.
On the other hand some separatist sunni, shia and kurdish groups have supported the new oil law from the beginning. These include the two ruling kurdish parties, sunnis like the Islamic party, and shia like SCIRI.
On a related note, Al-Sadr group is most likely going to withdraw from the Iraqi government (but not from the parliament) within the next couple of days, or at least this is what one official from the group just announced today. The group is withdrawing after al-maliki's latest statemets from Japan refusing to set a timetable for ending the presence of occupation forces in Iraq.
I talked to a number of nationalist Iraqi leaders and parliamentarians and they said there is a possibility they will follow al-sadr group and pull out from the government. "We might form a shadow government" one of the nationalist Iraqi leaders told me on the phone a few minutes ago.
Forming a shadow government is still good news because it indicates that Iraqi nationalists are still willing to try political, rather than military, solutions for ending the occupation, but at the same time news coming from Basrah and other southern cities indicate that the next days might be very violent. It seems that some nationalist groups have been calling for major rebellions against the occupation forces and their collaborators.
The only way to stop the growing voilence in Iraq is to end all the foriegn intervention and give Iraq back to the Iraqis.
The official spokesman of a secular group that lost an MP in the explosion announced that the attack was aimed at silencing "nationalist MPs who are against splitting
iraq and against the oil law".Looking at who was killed and injured in the attack, it seems like they were ALL nationalists. Also, considering that the parliament was just about to begin debating the oil law this week, the timing of the attack was very convenient for the bush/imf/separatists.
Nationalist Sunni, Shia, and secular groups have been clearly against the new oil law. Shia groups like Al-Sadr and Al-Fadhila Party (Virtue Party) and Sunni groups like the People of Iraq's council (majles ahl al-iraq), national dialogue council (majles al-hiwar) and secular groups like the National Dialogue Front (jabhat al-hiwar), liberation and reconciliation front (jabhat elmosalaha wattahrir) and others have all spoken out against the law and the consequences it would have for Iraq's unity and sovereignty. Other groups such as the Iraqi list (al-qaemah al-iraqiah) and the two dawa parties were a little bit confused about the law. Such nationalist groups are also against splitting Iraq into three regions, and against keeping the occupation forces in Iraq.
On the other hand some separatist sunni, shia and kurdish groups have supported the new oil law from the beginning. These include the two ruling kurdish parties, sunnis like the Islamic party, and shia like SCIRI.
On a related note, Al-Sadr group is most likely going to withdraw from the Iraqi government (but not from the parliament) within the next couple of days, or at least this is what one official from the group just announced today. The group is withdrawing after al-maliki's latest statemets from Japan refusing to set a timetable for ending the presence of occupation forces in Iraq.
I talked to a number of nationalist Iraqi leaders and parliamentarians and they said there is a possibility they will follow al-sadr group and pull out from the government. "We might form a shadow government" one of the nationalist Iraqi leaders told me on the phone a few minutes ago.
Forming a shadow government is still good news because it indicates that Iraqi nationalists are still willing to try political, rather than military, solutions for ending the occupation, but at the same time news coming from Basrah and other southern cities indicate that the next days might be very violent. It seems that some nationalist groups have been calling for major rebellions against the occupation forces and their collaborators.
The only way to stop the growing voilence in Iraq is to end all the foriegn intervention and give Iraq back to the Iraqis.
