Panic and chaos in Maliki government (and Iran) after the news of U.S. works with Ba’ath members to fight Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
Removing Salih Al-Mutlaq is to block the Saudis — U.S. plan to restore the Ba’athists through Salih Al-Mutlaq “gate” to the parliament.
A Ba’ath Party source told Bahraini newspaper that U.S. military commander David Petraeus himself is leading the negotiations between the Baath Party and its allied factions. ~ Akhbar-Alkhaleej 07-01-2010
When he was asked about if the U.S. negotiated with the Ba’athists, Michael Corbin Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs — Iraq answered:
It depends who do you call Ba’athists? We did not hold negotiations with Baathists refuse to participate in the political process. ~ Kuwaiti Al-Rai 20-12-2009
Britain’s newspaper telegraph revealed yesterday that the Baathist officers who fled Iraq in the wake of the fall of Saddam are working with US intelligence to fight Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The missing link between the two stories is Saudi connection. When the danger became too close to the Saudi Arabia border, I can imagine that Saudi Arabia convinced the U.S. to use the former Iraqi intelligence to fight Al-Qaeda.
Which explains why Maliki involved in the Sistani religious row, criticizing Saudi Arabia for insulting Sistani. The Iraqi government wants to escalate this religious crisis with Saudi Arabia further. Two days ago Al-Sumaria revealed the following:
Dawa Party leader, Ali al-Adeeb, Salafi clerics want to issue a fatwa to declare all Shiite clerics are irreligious … Information confirm that 12 Saudi Salafi clerics, Iraqis and Pakistanis planned to issue this fatwa … An initiative from a neighboring country, exports sectarian differences and bombs. ~ Al-Sumaria 06-01-2010