Mixed Feelings from Sunni Insurgents on Execution of Saddam Hussein

By Evan Kohlmann

In the wake of the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on December 30, only one prominent Sunni insurgent organization--the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front (JAAMI)--has issued any statement acknowledging or responding to Saddam's demise. JAAMI and its armed wing, the Salahudeen Brigades, have always been among the more nationalist-oriented groups involved in the Iraqi insurgency--and thus, at least one would presume, more loyal to their ex-ruler than extreme Islamists (such as Al-Qaida in Iraq). Yet, in a statement published on January 4, JAAMI displayed little sense of mercy for Saddam Hussein, declaring that Hussein had "brought what happened... upon himself... Blessed and glorious Allah will execute justice upon him." The statement further accused Iran and the United States of conspiring to use the media to erroneously "lump Saddam and the Sunnis together." JAAMI did not attempt to deny the guilt of Saddam in committing war crimes, but rather demanded, "Why doesn’t the American administration take similar measures, or at least some of the same measures, with respect to the crimes that have been committed in Iraq since the occupation began and continue to be committed each day? Who is responsible for the massacres committed by the militias every day?"

Ominously, JAAMI's statement concluded with a call to "the mujahideen to strike the joints of the Iranian-American conspiracy with an iron fist and to coordinate their efforts with all the jihadist groups operating in the region in order to bring failure to their plans and defeat their agents and stooges."

Click to view JAAMI statement on the execution of Saddam Hussein c/o Globalterroralert.com

See also: State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: 2006

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