NPR: Rift Appears Among Iraq Insurgent Groups
By Evan Kohlmann
Mary Louise Kelly from NPR was kind enough to interview me today on the emerging splits between Al-Qaida and the Sunni insurgency in Iraq--and most particularly, on the recent emergence of the Reform and Jihad Front (RJF).
"There is a division separating now Sunni insurgents who see a future Iraq in a Middle East that we can recognize, versus extremists who are intent on redefining the entire face of the Middle East," Kohlmann said. "And the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Reformation and Jihad Front have made it certain that there is not a larger jihad mission. That the jihad is only in Iraq, and is not supposed to extend beyond its borders." Is the emerging split good news for U.S. interests in Iraq? On the one hand, if it isolates al-Qaida, that would be a welcome development. But Kohlmann cautions that the Reformation and Jihad Front has no more interest in a democratic Iraq than al-Qaida does, and that no one should paint the new alliance as the good guys. "It has no interest in supporting the United States. It is not a friend of the United States," Kohlmann said. "But that being said, for a group like this to step forward and to suddenly say things which offer a much more critical view of what al-Qaida is doing inside of Iraq ... I think you have to take that very seriously."
Undoubtedly,
the debate over the RJF and its impact on the Sunni insurgency deserves much more attention, and I will do my best to follow this up with further analysis as soon as possible.
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