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Following are excerpts from an interview with Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi, Deputy Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'th Party, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on August 28, 2007.
Interviewer: Why has the role of the Ba'thists diminished among the rebellion movements and armed groups?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: The role of the Ba'thists equals that of the Islamic factions. As for the claim that the Islamists say the Ba'thists have no role - I believe that this is mistaken.
Interviewer: I'm not saying that they have no role whatsoever, but it is the Islamic groups that are leading these movements.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: It makes no difference if they are led by the Islamists or by the Ba'thists. The Islamic factions are full of Ba'thists, who came from the army, and from the armed forces in general, as well as civilian Ba'thists.
Interviewer: But these Islamic groups are also full of the Salafi leaders, who were imprisoned and persecuted by the previous regime. The leaders of many of these groups criticize the Ba'th Party, as we know.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: It makes no difference whether the leadership is Ba'thist or Islamic. What matters is that the rifle should be aimed at the enemy and the traitors, and not at any Iraqi, whether from the south, north, or west.
[…]
Interviewer: The Iraqi government says that there is an alliance between the Ba'thists and the Islamists.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: We ally ourselves with whoever bears arms against them and the Americans.
Interviewer: Even with Al-Qaeda, for instance?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: No, Al-Qaeda is another matter. As you are well aware, there are essential differences between us. We ally ourselves with whoever bears arms and fights the enemy. I want you to understand me well. Anyone who fights against the enemy or the traitor in the enemy's ranks – we will fight together with him, whether he is Muslim, Christian, or anything.
Interviewer: So you do not agree with Al-Qaeda at all?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: I'll be frank with you - we agree with it when it targets the American enemy. We agree with it when it targets the Safavids [the Shiites], who are implementing the Iranian agenda.
[…]
Interviewer: Why have you asked the Ba'thists to join the Islamic armed groups?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: Clearly, our material and logistic capabilities are weak, and as long as there are other factions fighting the enemy, what is the problem?
Interviewer: Where has the money of the Ba'th Party gone?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: It was stolen by those who came in the American tanks. It was stolen by the Americans.
[…]
Interviewer: Today, there is a new reality in Iraq. There is an elected political rule. Parliamentary elections were held after the transitional period. Until when will you continue to oppose the political process in Iraq?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: Would you, as an Arab, accept that Iraqis who are not of Iraqi origin come with the Americans and be given legitimacy? Where did they get their legitimacy from?
Interviewer: From the elections.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: The elections were fraudulent. Go ask the Americans themselves about the elections. Ask them how vehicles came loaded with ballots from Iran..
Interviewer: So what do you say about the millions who turned out to vote?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: What millions? Those millions succumbed to the pressure of clerics with foreign ties.
Interviewer: But this is the choice of the people.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: No, it isn't. The people does not accept this choice. People were deceived, but by now they have realized that they were deceived by the enemies. The Arabs in the south have now begun to fight the enemy and the militias, which came to slaughter Iraqis because of the [Sunni] identity.
Interviewer: So you agree with those who reject the political process, and with the [Sunni] Association of Islamic Scholars, which called to boycott the political process?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: Of course. We agree with the association and with Sheik Hareth Al-Dhari, who is one of the beloved national figures.
[…]
The Ba'thist national plan is what can guarantee the unity of Iraq. The Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds accept the Ba'th, but if you talk to any of them on a sectarian or racial basis, this would certainly lead to the partition of Iraq.
Interviewer: But the Ba'th Party is accused of carrying out deportations and oppressing the Kurds and the Shiites. The Ba'th era is said to have been an era of oppression and bloodshed, especially for the Shiites and Kurds. How could the Shiites and Kurds possibly accept the Ba'th Party back?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: Not a single Iraqi citizen was oppressed, whether a Kurd or an Arab of the south or the north.
Interviewer: What about the mass graves?
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: The mass graves were created by the people who came from Iran in order to fight the [Iraqi] army that was withdrawing from Kuwait.
[…]
Interviewer: This was a popular revolution.
Ghazwan Al-Kubeisi: It was no revolution. It was a rebellion against the country. The citizens in the south, as well as the Kurds, miss the "former regime," as they call it.
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