Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
Following are excerpts from an interview with Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman, the Al-Anbar Salvation Council, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV and Al-Alam TV on July 23 and August 27, 2007:
Al-Jazeera TV, July 23, 2007
Interviewer: Why have you armed yourself against Al-Qaeda? Why has the Al-Qaeda organization become your target?
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: My brother, what the hell is the Al-Qaeda organization? The worst crimes in Al-Anbar were committed by Al-Qaeda. Nothing is sacred to them. Al-Anbar is tribal by nature. Al-Qaeda wanted us to swear allegiance to it, but our allegiance lies with Allah and with our country. Al-Qaeda began interfering in our religious affairs, in matters concerning our faith and tribal traditions. Al-Qaeda wants to rob us of everything, and turn us into a herd of sheep following it. They are a bunch of people whose names we don't even know – useless people, some of whom came from across the border, and others are tribal scum who want to rule the province. In all honesty, this aroused our resentment, and the fact that the American forces are tolerant towards them... They play a game of cat and mouse... To be honest, the Americans are fed us with chasing these organizations. We never supported them, but now we have lost our patience. They've begun killing us in multitudes. They've emptied the province. The people of Al-Anbar all live in Syria and Amman.
[...]
Interviewer: Al-Qaeda accuses you of being an American product. It says that the Americans supported only some of the tribes, so that they would fight the resistance in Al-Anbar, which is led by Al-Qaeda, after the American forces almost completely lost control of the province. To prove this, they say that not all the tribes of Al-Anbar belong to the Al-Anbar Salvation Council – only the ones that they call "collaborating tribes."
[...]
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: We do not operate under American sponsorship, and we are not collaborators. I challenge anyone to prove that the Americans gave us a single bullet. They did not do us any favors. These are invading forces that came to the region with their own agenda. If I defend my land and my honor – am I to be considered an American collaborator? Did I come to the rescue of the American forces?! By Allah, this is nonsense. Is it conceivable that the world's strongest force be rescued by tribal fighters? This is nonsense. These are the claims of Al-Qaeda.
[...]
Interviewer: You are not the subject of authority of the government of the Al-Anbar province. In other words, you are outlaws?
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: My brother, why outlaws? What law exactly are you talking about? The politicians of the so-called Iraqi government – if anyone can be called an outlaw, it is them. As for the American forces – they are subject to no law. Whether they kill or not – it is all the same to them. The governor... Brother, are we children, or what? Where is the governor? Who ever elected him? I would like to ask a question with regard to Iraqi law – who elected the governor of Al-Anbar? Bring me a single person who can say: "I voted for the governor of Al-Anbar." Brother, we have nothing to do with him. He is merely a clerk carrying a briefcase, and every day he travels to another country.
[...]
Interviewer: Don't you fear that all this indiscriminate killing will cause you greater tribal problems, especially since, as you say, there is no law, no government, no rule.
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: Brother, obviously, we know that after a while there will be blood vengeance, but we demanded on many occasions that they send us a military command to rule Al-Anbar.
[...]
All I can do is to defend, fight and build a force. Don't ask me to implement the law. According to what law am I supposed to try a person? What are we supposed to do with a man who killed 30 or 40 people? What should we give him? A life sentence? Where would we keep him? We don't even have a central jail in Al-Anbar.
Interviewer: So the solution is to execute him on the spot?
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: I didn't say that. Some people made mistakes and didn't behave properly. In other cases, it was a matter of blood vengeance. What should I do with someone who killed 30-40 people? Send him all the way to the Buka Prison, so they set him free after 2 years? Or should I hand him over to the Iraqi government and later they will say: "We gave him to so-and-so, and found him thrown somewhere."
[...]
Al-Alam TV, August 27, 2007
Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Sleiman: With regard to the elections and the government, and the question who will become governor or prime minister – this has nothing to do with us. If we are asked who represents us, we will send people and say they represent us. We do not believe in democracy. That democracy is fake, to tell the truth, at least as far as our province in concerned – I'm not talking about all of Iraq. This democracy has brought us people nobody has heard of, people who fill their pockets with money, and leave Iraq.
[...]
We do not recognize these people and they don't represent us. Never will we accept people who sold us out. We were sold out, and a great injustice was done to us. Our homes were destroyed, our families driven out, and we had casualties and martyrs, and suddenly, some politician remembers us at some event, and he comes to deliver a speech in Al-Ramadi. We didn't invite them, and we don't intend to, because they've done nothing for us.
[...]
To be honest, I am amazed at a certain politician who came to Al-Ramadi, and said: "We must eradicate terrorism." After we finished them off, you come and say this? As I've told you, we're fed up with the politicians, and we don't want anything to do with them. Honestly, he can get a job, declare himself a minister, he can even become a prime minister for all I care. We have the public. Whenever we want, we can stop him, and let the public settle accounts with him – according to the law which they wrote, of course. All we want from him is what we deserve. As an official, what is your job? You have a salary, you have budgets, while people are dying of hunger.
[...]
As for the prime minister – look, we don't give grades. We never scratched the prime minister's back, and he never scratched ours. We have good relations with him as a prime minister. By Allah, the man wants to do things, but his ministers, this parliament, and these officials, with all due respect, only want to ruin things.
[...]
On what will you base the political process? If this is what it is based on, it will fail, and when it does, people will have no mercy on them this time. It's only logical that if you topple someone, you must bring someone better.
[...]
So far, we have only been monitoring the situation, but one of these days, we won't settle for this and won't keep silent. Just like we had no choice but to deal with Al-Qaeda, we will have no choice but to use the same method with them.
[...]
Two forces fought a bitter war – the American forces and Al-Qaeda. I'm telling you, it has turned into a competition who will destroy the province first. They've finished us off. If the Americans had not entered Al-Ramadi, not a single bullet would have been fired at us. If they had left it up to us from the beginning, like we asked them, we would have dealt with the problem. But they wanted to make a show of strength. They replaced the army with the Marines. At first, we had the army, and they were better. True, they are all Americans, but those Marines are a complete disaster. They destroy everything. If they are shot at from one house on some street – they destroy all the surrounding houses. They destroy us. Let's be frank, this is an operation intended to destroy Al-Anbar, which was contracted to two "companies" that excel in this field – the American forces and the Al-Qaeda organization. Go to Al-Ramadi, nothing was left of it, as Allah is my witness – not in terms of health, education, food, drink, or work. They have completely destroyed us.
[...]
Why have they used these cheap methods? What are the raids for? The pride of us Bedouins is symbolized by the 'uqal head band. Why, when you arrest someone, do you knock the 'uqal off his head? What do you expect from us? A gift? No, we will give them a punch in the face. They may destroy a home or a street, but not a man's honor.
Latest Clips
