Dear Sir,
I'm the M.E. editor in charge of Iraq for my newspaper. We met several years ago, for several times, and we discussed a lot about the siege to Iraq, the american plans and the palestinian question and also about art and
literature. Our newspaper is making a campaign against the occupation of Iraq, for the withdrawl of the italian troup and now about the refusal of the visa to Italy to the speakers invited at the chianciano conference. So I would like, if you want, to ask you a few question:
Stefano Chiarini,il manifesto,newspaper,Italy


The Questions and answers


1- What is your position about the occupation, the resistance and the so called "political process" and the constitution?

A- The occupation of Iraq, by American colonialism, is a crime against humanity, as well as violation of the international law,and the charter of the United Nations. The occupation has fundamental objectives, the first objective is to destroy it the independence and territorial integrity of Iraq, by destroying the national shield of Iraq, which is Baath party, then the second objective is transforming Iraq into a colony, fully controlled by the United States, to be used to export the so called (American Empire), through the so called (American democracy). The third objective is the exploitation of the Iraqi oil for the purpose of solving the internal oil crisis of the United States, and to use the oil as a blackmail tool against all other nations, because oil, according to new American geopolitical plan, is a powerful tool of blackmailing all other nations specially the union of Europe, China, India, and other nations.
By controlling fully all oil fields the United States can impose whatever it wants from other governments to do, and other governments cannot resist American demands, without sacrificing their homeland economy and social stability. Therefore Iraq is essential part of that plan, to guarantee the full success of that a plan, America has to colonize.
Iraq, specially Iraq has the biggest oil reserve in the world, not Saudi Arabia. Besides that the cost of the Iraqi oil is the cheapest in the world, while barrel cost in Saudi Arabia more than two dollars, and it costs in other countries between sixteen to 30 dollars, in Iraq it doesn’t cost more than half a dollar per barrel! So To impose full control on the world, without engaging in military wars, the United States can use the oil as a political weapon. The final objective of the American colonial occupation of Iraq is to remove from the map, the major regional power in the Middle East, which is Iraq. In the light of these objectives I consider the occupation of Iraq by the United States of America as a revival of the traditional colonialism, but with more cruelty, more destructive means. The armed resistance in Iraq to the American occupation is a normal and needed reaction to the American crimes against Iraqis and the homeland of the Iraqis. No normal human beings accept occupation, and insulting dignity of the nation, as well as the looting of the wealth of Iraq. Therefore resisting American colonialism is a legitimate reaction, according to the all codes and humanitarian notions, as well as according to international law and the United Nations charter. All Iraqis fighting now against occupation, whether by guns or by political activities.
The so called (political process) is a mere tactic to attract some dignitaries and political small groups, to join the camp of those cooperating with the occupation authority. As everyone know that occupation is illegal, and whatever it is doing is also illegal. Therefore any participation in the so called political process is a direct support to the occupation; occupation should be isolated and attacked by all means, to guarantee its defeat. Giving hand To the American representatives in Iraq has one translation: providing the occupation with the opportunity to reduce the attacks on its troops, as well as accepting the notion of occupation legitimacy.
You are asking me about the draft constitution prepared by American occupation, I would like to remind you by the fact that the occupation, by its own definition, is illegal, and according to Geneva convention the occupation authority has no right, whatsoever, to change the constitution, the laws, the economic order, and so on in the occupied country, and it has to keep everything as it was before the occupation. In the light of that legal Reality what the United States has done, in Iraq is illegal, it has no right to impose any new constitution, or law. Beside this legal fact I have to mention, that the proposed constitution is a recipe for dividing Iraq into three states, on the basis of sectarianism and racism. By adopting Federal system in Iraq American authority wants to establish Kurdish state in the north, Sunni state in the middle, and finally shiit state in the south of Iraq, this kind of Federal system transfer the real authority from the centre, which is the capital Baghdad, to the suburbs of Iraq! What is the result of that kind of change will be? Practically speaking, the most dangerous consequences will be the removal of a regional power from the map of the Arab homeland, and the so called Middle
East. To translate this kind of change, we have to stress on the point, that American plan wants to destabilize Iraq and, instead of being one state, one nation, and central decision, America wants many tiny states to be created from the ruins of Iraq. That’s why all Iraqis are rejecting this kind of constitution, fighting back, by guns and peaceful means to throw the constitution in the garbage basket. The resistance is not going to permit this kind of constitution to be adopted, or implemented. Iraq is one simple, unified country, with a majority of Arab nationality; Arab nationality constitute’s 85% of the population of Iraq, Kurd minority is not more than 5% of Iraq population. To change the identity of Iraq as an Arabic country, the United States is working hard, with the full support of Iran, to divide the Arab majority into Sunni and shiit sects, and then speaking not about Arab and Kurds but on Kurds, shiit and Sunni! Arab nation in Iraq is neglected and ignored. More importantly about 4 million Iranians and Turkish Kurds were brought to Iraq, illegally, and most of them were granted Iraqi nationality, after destroying all official documents of the Iraqi state ministries, by trained mercenaries prepared by the CIA, to pave the way for giving Iraqi nationality to millions of none Iraqis.

2- Abroad the media give us the idea of a resistance made only by the zarqawi men. What is your assessment of the strength of the secular, pan Arab, patriotic resistance?

A- From the beginning the United States government, has fallen in the trap of Iraq, by believing that the occupation will be considered, as a( liberation), on that assumption the American government has spoken enthusiastically, about the easy control of Iraq. But when the armed resistance has restarted immediately after a occupying Baghdad, capital of Iraq, the United States has started to understand, that Baath party, in general, and the president of Iraq Mr. Saddam Hussein, in particular, have organized a highly sophisticated national armed resistance. If you look To the map of Iraq, after two and half year of the occupation you will notice that the armed resistance is fully controlling most of Iraq’s cities, from north, the Kurdish region, down to the middle and south of Iraq.The resistance is well prepared, well trained, well organized at least two years before the occupation. To give you good and objective accounts, I have to tell you that the daily operations of the resistance has exceeded the number 300 operation in everyday, without mentioning the individual attacks made by individual spontaneous decision.
The question is what we expect from American colonialism to say about Iraq, after it has said that the war has ended by American victory? American Hollywood mentality has invented Zarqawi coverage, to justify the mass and popular resistance, made by Arabs, Kurds, Turkmans, Christians, Muslims, shiit
and Sunni Iraqis! To stick to a original claim of ending the war by great American victory, bush administration has invented, and fabricated, the story of Zarkawi, because it is in desperate need to approve that the resistance in Iraq, is not made by Iraqis, but by some foreign persons. Also Bush administration has to claim that the fighting against the so called( terrorism) oblige America to claim that, those who are attacking American troops in Iraq, are not Iraqis but terrorists from other countries.
The whole Iraqis fully aware that the armed resistance is Iraqi resistance, prepared by Iraqis, organized by Iraqis, financed by Iraqis, performed by Iraqis, directed by Iraqis. This fact was supported by American officials and general’s, in Iraq, when they said repeatedly, that the number of foreigners fighting in Iraq is not more than 10% of the Iraqi resistance whole number. It is well known that the armed revolution in Iraq against American colonialism is motivating all freedom lovers, all over the world, as it was the case of armed revolutions in other countries, such as Palestine, Spain, Vietnam, Cuba, in which many volunteers went to these countries to participate in the fighting against colonial invasion or against reactionary forces.
Yes there are some hundreds of Arabs fighting in Iraq, against American occupation, those volunteers are defending Iraq as well as Arab homeland, because all Arabs, from north Africa to the Arabic gulf, are belonging to one nation, therefore they have the duty of joining their brothers Arabs of Iraq to kick out American colonialism. The main body inside the resistance is Baathist, because Baath party, as I said, has prepared for this kind of guerrilla warfare for years, militarily and psychologically. Also you have to remember that Baath party is the biggest and oldest political national organization in Iraq, it has the support of 6 million Iraqi Nasir, which mean supporter, beside the training of between seven and seven and half million Iraqis, women and men. In the light of these facts I can assure you that, the armed resistance is a national resistance not limited to one party, but it is represents all Iraqis, all ethnic and sects in Iraq. Also you have to know that, there is central leadership of the resistance, and it has one commander.

3- What you think is the political proposal of the resistance and how you think can be avoided a sort of social division between Sunni, shia, curds etc?

A- The declared strategy of the armed resistance has indicated that the government after the liberation of Iraq will be coalition government, representing all organizations participating now in the armed resistance, and the political order, in liberated Iraq, will be based on democracy. After two years of liberating Iraq, a free democratic election will be held, to determine who will run the government in Iraq. The so called division among Sunni and Shiit, is an illusion, and wishful thinking, of the occupiers, because Iraqi people is united, and understand the American-Iranian-Israeli game of working on the normal combination of the Iraqi society, and these forces trying to divide Iraq, on the basis of racism and sectarianism. But Iraq, after two and half year of the occupation, characterized by tens of plans, implemented by these parties to divide Iraq, but in vain, Iraq society is created before at least 8000 year, with all fundamental reactions taken place in that period of time, to create one nation, one mentality, one fate, one psychology and sometime one origin. For example you can find in one family shiit, Sunni and Kurd, so the question is how the American can ignite civil war among such kind of people, connected by very strong social fabric? Because of that historical fact Iraq has passed over all kind of challenges, invasions, as well as internal upheaval. Our society by the nature is a secular society, all Iraqis are equal in front of the law, and the cornerstone of the practices of the governments is the equality of the citizenship.

4- What happened to the Baath party and the other pan Arab and nationalist parties?

A- As I said Baath party is the leader of the resistance now, and it has become stronger than before, thousands of Iraqis, have joined the party after the occupation. As for other nationalist parties, unfortunately most of these parties have almost disappeared, if you look to the Iraqi arena you will not see big national parties, except Baath party. As for the communist party of
Iraq it has become part of groups serving the occupation officially and practically. For that reason the Iraqis do not consider any more the communist party as a national party, they look to it as a puppet in the hand of American colonialism.

5- Did they make any self criticism about the past?

A- Criticizing the past is not a practical for the time being, because the major power of the Iraqi resistance is engaged in daily fighting, and it has no time to evaluate the past, which could be done after the liberation of Iraq, specially the national front should be established, to govern Iraq after the liberation, and that requirement oblige all Iraqi parties and groups, to make new evaluation and conduct sincere criticism to the past.

6-What do you think about the presence of the Italian troops in Iraq and about the peace movement in our country?

A-The participation of Italy in the war against Iraqi people, is unfortunate, because Iraq in particular, and Arabs, in general, are feeling painful for the damage, serious damage, inflicted in the ties with Italy. Italian troops participating in the mass killing of Iraqis, in the destruction of Iraq, and in the looting of Iraq, even if no Italian soldier open fire on Iraqis, because your participation by troops, constitute a direct support to the invasion, to the atrocities, and the crimes committed by American generals and soldiers, against millions of Iraqis. We do not understand why the Italian government is damaging future relationship with Iraq by supporting the American aggression and crimes against all Iraqis? We believe that your government is not serving the Italian interest, but it serves American interest. The question is: when your government will discover the painful and deep damage it has made in the relationship with Iraqis? We advise your government to have an immediate withdrawal from Iraq before it is too late.

7-What do you think about the refusal of the visas?

A- I think that the Italian government has violated the basic human rights norms, by not granting me visa to attend peaceful conference, showing
solidarity with the Iraqi people. We don’t understand why your government has started to destroy the basic elements of the western propaganda about freedom of speech, human rights, defending just causes, and rejecting any kind of oppression. This rejection, of granting me visa, is reminding me by the measurement of the government’s of the third world countries, which does not respect democracy and human rights. Could you please tell me what is the difference between the worst kind of dictatorship in the third world countries, and the decision of the government of Italy?

8-Have you already been in Italy in the past? and who did you meet in your official capacity?

A -- Unfortunately I have not visited Italy before, except about twelve hour I had to spend in Rome in 1990 when I was travelling from Tunisia to Iraq, and the flight was suspended, and then I spend the night in Italy till the second day. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to visit your beautiful country.

9- Could you summarize your political? Literary and artistic life and your cultural an political position?

A - For the time being I am limiting myself to intellectual activities, such as writing and speaking to defend my country against colonial occupation of the united states of America. I have no other activities for the time being. As for my political position I am now the Chairman of the Friendship, peace, and solidarity organization, which is the biggest, and the most important NGO,S in Iraq.

10-What do you think of the Palestinian question and of the Gaza withdrawal?

A-The Palestinian question is exposed now to American-Zionist plan of eradicating the legitimate rights of Palestinian people, namely the right of return, and the basic rights of liberating the Palestinian occupied land. As for Gaza withdrawal, it is an Israeli tactic to avoid exhausting Israeli human and material sources, as well as to get rid of the burden of very poor, very complicated area.

11- Do you think that the project of balkanization of Iraq will be extended to other Arab countries?

A- My answer is yes, because this is the original plan of the new conservatives of the united states of America, but the defeat of American troops in Iraq has made radical change in the American plan toward Arab countries, as well as the whole world. The quagmire of the United States in Iraq, created by the armed resistance of the Iraqis, is deterring the American administration from thinking to implement other steps, of aggression and occupation. The United States of America Is confronting a deadly challenge in Iraq, it has lost any hope of staying in Iraq, after losing the war. In the light of the huge and hidden loses by both human and material factors, it is not logical to think, even to think ,about invading another country, the first priority of the united states in Iraq , is to reach a face saving formula to withdraw from the Iraqi quagmire.

Published on 23 - 9 -2005

Salah al Mukhtar had worked at the Iraqi mission to the United Nations, then, in the years 1990-1991, at the Arab League as assistant to the Secretary General holding responsibility for Information. In the years 1993-1998 he headed the main Iraqi daily, al Gumhouriya. From 1999 he was Iraqi Ambassador to India and in 2003 to Vietnam.

Courtesy Salah al Mukhtar