Iraqi exiles in Iran agree to help US: Attack to overthrow Saddam
By Michael Slackman
TEHRAN: Iraq’s main opposition forces have begun coordinating their military efforts and would welcome US air support in their bid to topple President Saddam Hussein, according to the leaders of one of the groups.
Speaking from a well-guarded compound in Tehran, where he has been in exile for more than two decades, Shia opposition leader Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr Hakim said last week that his organization opposes a full-blown US invasion but supports the idea of a mission in which massive bombing paves the way for local forces to fight on the ground.
“We don’t need an invasion,” Bakr Hakim said. “You must distinguish between an American invasion and (an) attack — the Iraqi people can protect themselves if there is no heavy artillery or weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the regime.”
He said his group has been working with the military leaders of the two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq, which make up the strongest opposition force inside the country. US officials have acknowledged that the Kurdish opposition probably would play a substantial role in any effort to overthrow Saddam.
Bakr Hakim, president of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said his organization hadn’t been contacted by Washington, D.C — a claim disputed by US State Department officials — because, he said, America is reluctant to approach a group based in Iran.
Officials with SAIRI, as the group is widely known, said the United States is overlooking a potentially valuable ally in the battle for Baghdad. They dispute the apparent US assessment that Iraqi opposition forces lack a credible military capability and argue that with appropriate backup, a united Kurdish and Shia advance would win the support of the Iraqi people and overthrow Saddam.
“You see, we are sure, from inside Iraq, if the balance of power is broken by bombing or whatever, you will see what happens,” said Sami Mahdi, director of international relations for SAIRI. “Even the security forces will join us.”
For years, Washington had no contacts with the group, in part because of concern over its close ties with and financial dependence on the Iranian regime as well as its religious orientation, according to US officials. Republican as well as Democratic administrations wanted to ensure that Iraq’s secular dictatorship wasn’t replaced by a religious dictatorship — especially one with close ties to theocratic Iran.
Nevertheless, top State Department officials meet regularly with SAIRI representatives in London — and over the years have met with representatives in Washington, D.C, State Department officials said. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations also tried to meet with Bakr Hakim when he travelled outside Iran, but he has refused the overtures, department sources said.
While Iran still officially opposes US military action in Iraq, the Interior Ministry announced this month that it wouldn’t block Bakr Hakim from talking with the United States. That was taken as a nod and a wink from a regime that could easily shut down any communication between the two.
Bakr Hakim’s comments suggest that Iran is prepared to take a hands-off approach — which it says is what it did with Afghanistan — neither assisting Iraq in the event of an offensive against Baghdad nor seeking to further its regional ambitions afterward.
Bakr Hakim said he wanted to assure the world community that his group supports a united Iraq and that there is no intention to create an Islamic republic on the model of Iran.
“There is a lot we can do for America. We have a militia here. We can help,” one Iranian official said, referring to Bakr Hakim’s militia, known as the Badr Brigade. “But not unconditionally.”—Dawn/The Los Angeles Times News Service.
