Iraq Sunnis urge Arabs to act against 'Iranian occupation'

Members of the Sunni Anbar Awakening and US army soldiers stand alert in al-Duwanem, south of Baghdad

CAIRO (AFP) — An Iraqi Sunni delegation on a visit to Cairo on Wednesday urged Arab countries to act against what it called the "Iranian occupation" of Iraq.

"We would like a common Arab position to save Iraq and its people ...(in the face of) the Iranian occupation," Sheikh Majid Abdel Razzak al-Ali Suleiman said after a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.

"Such an Arab position, led by Egypt, is necessary to weaken Iran's role in Iraq, because if Tehran occupies this country, it will occupy other Arab countries too," said the head of the Dulaim tribe, which is concentrated mainly in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Sunni tribes from Anbar, a onetime stronghold of the anti-US insurgency, have recently allied themselves with US troops against Al-Qaeda militants, while keeping their distance from the Baghdad government dominated by Shiites.

The delegation also called on Arab countries to re-open their missions in Baghdad "so that the territory is not left to Iran."

Suleiman said that all Iraqis, whether from north or south, "are ready to guarantee Arab diplomats' security."

For his part, Abul Gheit said his country was seriously considering sending a security mission to Iraq in order to assess conditions for re-opening an embassy in Iraq, according to his spokesman Hossam Zaki.

Hmmm...A search took me to this from 2005 and the LSJ:

More Red-on-Red

********************EXCERPT*************************

By Bill RoggioAugust 14, 2005 7:36 AM

"We have had enough of his nonsense. We don't accept that a non-Iraqi should try to enforce his control over Iraqis, regardless of their sect -- whether Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs or Kurds.''
- Sheik Ahmad Khanjar, leader of the Sunni Albu Ali clan, referring to Abu Musab al Zarqawi

Red-on-red incidents between al Qaeda and Sunni insurgents are nothing new in Anbar province. We saw numerous instances of this when al Qaeda attempted to impose its will on the Sunnis in Qaim along the Syrian border. However the Washington Post provides a new twist to the internecine warfare between the foreign jihadis and local Sunni fighters. Sunnis have taken up arms against al Qaeda to protect their Shiite neighbors [hat tip Rantburg]. In Ramadi.

Rising up against insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, Iraqi Sunni Muslims in Ramadi fought with grenade launchers and automatic weapons Saturday to defend their Shiite neighbors against a bid to drive them from the western city, Sunni leaders and Shiite residents said. The fighting came as the U.S. military announced the deaths of six American soldiers.
Dozens of Sunni members of the Dulaimi tribe stablished cordons around Shiite homes, and Sunni men battled followers of Zarqawi, a Jordanian, for an hour Saturday morning [note - Omar states this is Iraq's largest tribe]. The clashes killed five of Zarqawi's guerrillas and two tribal fighters, residents and hospital workers said. Zarqawi loyalists pulled out of two contested neighborhoods in pickup trucks stripped of license plates, witnesses said [note – to put it more plainly, al Qaeda had to run away!].
The leaders of four of Iraq's Sunni tribes had rallied their fighters in response to warnings posted in mosques by followers of Zarqawi.

An Iraqi Sunni delegation on a visit to Cairo on Wednesday urged Arab countries to act against what it called the "Iranian occupation" of Iraq.

Ironic, isn't it, when the rest of the world is all upset about the 'American' occupation of Iraq. The Iraqis understand what the rest of the world doesn't. We don't intend to stay there and run the country. We're there now, helping to provide security so that the Iraqis can get into the swing of running it themselves. They haven't had to do that in over 30 years, because Sadaam had such a stranglehold on everything, so they're having to take some time to learn.

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