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Sunni Factions Split With Al-Qaeda Group
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The Sunni groups are also divided over entering the political process, said Makki, the member of parliament. His Iraqi Islamic Party is serving as a liaison between the Shiite-led government and the Sunni insurgents, including, he said, the Islamic Army, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and other main groups.
"But mind you, not all of the subgroups of those groups are willing to go in this direction. They are still not convinced about negotiations," Makki said.
Hasan Suneid, a Shiite member of parliament and close aide of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, described another major stumbling block. The insurgents, he said, are "trying to negotiate demands that are strategic to their interests." They want a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals, a revision of the Iraqi constitution and a balance of Shiites and Sunnis in government ministries.
"If they maintain their independence from each other and each one has its different strategy, there will be chaos on the ground and chaos at the [negotiating] table," said Tariq al-Hashimi, the Sunni vice president and leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Saleh al-Mutlaq, another Sunni member of parliament with close links to the insurgent groups, said many were not serious about talking with the government. "They would prefer to talk directly to the Americans," he said. "They don't trust the government. They don't want to see that they are strengthening the government. That's why they want to redraw the political process from the beginning.
"If they do not unite, they will be weakened," Mutlaq said. "Then al-Qaeda will manage to make their Islamic state in Iraq, and it will be a sad day for the country and the world."
Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi and Naseer Nouri in Baghdad, Yasmin Mousa in Amman, Jordan, and other Washington Post staff in Iraq and Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
