Islamic Party Puts Hopes In Syria

Islamic Party puts hopes in Syria

Muhsin Abdul Hamid, leader of the Islamic Party of Iraq, gave an interview to al-Hayat about his meetings in Damascus with Bashar al-Asad. A member of the US-appointed Interim Governing Council, Abdul Hamid said his group had chose “peaceful opposition” to the US occupation. (It always takes me aback when I see IGC members talking like that, though many have before. It shows how illegitimate the US occupation is, when even a hand-picked American appointee feels he has to stress his opposition.)

Abdul Hamid put a lot of hopes in the potential contribution of Syria to Iraqi stability. He pointed out that both major Kurdish leaders and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Abdul Aziz al-Hakim) have longstanding excellent relations with Damascus. Temporary IGC president Jalal Talabani will be going to see Bashar in a week or so. The interview shows how differently the Iraqis view Iraq’s neighbors. The US sees Syria as virtually sending terrorists into the country (this is Bill Safire’s line, though there is no good proof for it).