NIQASH: What do you think will happen with Iraq’s various militia groups after the US troop withdrawal is complete?
Al-Khuzaei: All of them say that the reason they exist is because of the presence of foreign forces in Iraq. They say that their activities will end with the withdrawal of those forces. So we have been waiting to see what will happen. We have had an indirect dialogue with the League of the Righteous, via individuals in the organisation. Many of them have expressed their willingness to quit the armed struggle.
NIQASH: All of the armed factions say that in resisting those they see as occupiers, they have patriotic and nationalistic goals. Does the reconciliation process take what the groups describe as ‘patriotism’ into account?
Al-Khuzaei: As everyone knows these groups work in secrecy so it’s difficult to assess exactly what they are doing or have done. We have seen that some of the groups haven’t been involved in crimes against Iraqis or against public property. They were only targeting foreign troops. However there are also individuals who carried out [violent] acts without the consent of the armed faction involved.
NIQASH: When it comes to the militia groups who lay down their arms, in what way does the reconciliation process work and what have you achieved?
Al-Khuzaei: The reconciliation commission provides members of armed groups with rehabilitation and with job opportunities, by integrating them into the Awakening forces. We also buy weapons from these groups so that the government can control armaments. There have been a number of disarming operations and we have collected heavy arms in Basra three times and once, recently, from Anbar.
NIQASH: Rumour has it that Mahmoud Jibril, the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council, and often described as the interim prime minister of Libya during the recent conflict there, gave you a list of Baath party members in Iraq that the ousted Gaddafi regime was supporting. Are the rumours correct: were recent raids on suspected Baathists in Iraq based on information given by Jibril?
Al-Khuzaei: I don’t know anything about this. What we do know though, is that we have information saying that Baath party remnants were preparing for a “zero hour” after US troops leave the country. They want to provoke civil disobedience and organize destructive demonstrations and they’re forcing Iraqis to join in, with threats and intimidation. They plan a return to power but really, they’re dreaming because they don’t have any political, public or popular support at all.
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