None of this answers any questions, but is interesting and sheds some light into influences from Iran, possibly, which both the truthout article and Fisk allude to:
Concerning SCIRI/Bayan Jabr, Fisk notes that Iran has strong ties to Iraqi Government:TONY JONES: What if you put Iran into this equation, because, as we all know, Iran is under tremendous pressure from the West and particularly from the United States at the moment. It has links to these Shia militias and, possibly, links too, to these people you are talking about in the Interior Ministry.
ROBERT FISK: No, no, no, that's wrong. The Iranians link is with the Iraqi Government. The main parties in the government of Iraq which have been elected, who are there now dealing with the Americans, these are the representatives of Iran. Moqtada al-Sadr is irrelevant to Iran. Iranians are already effectively controlling Iraq because the two major power blocks, the two major parties who were elected and who Bush has just been talking to, these are effectively the representatives of Tehran. That's the point. Iran doesn't need to get involved in violence in Iraq.
From the truthout article:
Mr. Pace, whose contract in Iraq ended last month, said many killings were carried out by Shia militias linked to the industry ministry run by Bayan Jabr, a leading figure in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri)..."There are other sources for that. Some militias are integrated with the police and wear police uniforms," he said. "The BaDr. brigade are in the police and are mainly the ones doing the killing. They're the most notorious."
Seems SCIRI has strong ties to Iran and this excerpt reveal that Jabr himself has had dealings with US since 1993 (Gabr from this excerpt here is Bayan Jabr from the truthout article). Wonder if this is one of those groups the Americans tried to leverage prior to the invasion?:Al-Hakim's return brings back into sharp focus the question of the role of Islamic-oriented groups in the future political make-up of Iraq. The SCIRI is considered to be the most prominent Shi'ite political movement. It was founded in Iraq by Al-Hakim himself in 1979 but was relocated to Tehran where Al-Hakim sought exile. For the past two decades, SCIRI, carried the opposition banner against Saddam Hussein's regime along with the Al-Dawa Party, the oldest Shi'ite opposition movement. The remaining Islamic party includes the Iraqi Islamic Party which is the Muslim Brotherhood branch in Iraq. Western fears are growing high over the rising tide of popularity for Islamic politics in post-war Iraq.
~snip~
Responding to those claims, a high ranking official of the SCIRI, in an interview with Al- Ahram Weekly this week, insisted that the US accusations about Al-Hakim and the SCIRI's aim to establish an Islamic state in Iraq are "utterly untrue". "What Al-Hakim and the SCIRI call for is not an Islamic theocracy but that religion should be respected in any political make-up. The Iraqi people will not accept a secular rule which pours scorn on religion. It is as simple as that," Bayan Gabr, the head of the foreign and Arab affairs of the SCIRI told the Weekly during a recent visit to Cairo. He pointed out that Western media outlets have overplayed fears that Iraq was set for a theocratic rule because slogans were raised by Iraqi demonstrators which stated "Al- Hawza (the religious seminary) represents us." While the religious component is central to the make-up of Iraqi society, Al-Hawza, which comprises more than 20 madrasas, is only a place of learning and not where the leadership is to be found, explained Gabr. "Among the ordinary Iraqi Shi'ites, the leadership rests with the Marjee, a religious authority who is the source of emulation. This is why Al-Hakim will be both the spiritual and political Marjee and will pass on SCIRI leadership to his brother Abdel-Aziz Al-Hakim."
Gabr defended the SCIRI's relationship with Iran insisting that by overplaying the Iranian influence on the SCIRI, the US wants to put pressure on the movement and to undermine it in the eyes of the Iraqi people. He explained that the SCIRI has always acted independently from the Iranian state, which played host to the movement during the past two decades. The Iranian state, he explained, established diplomatic contacts with Saddam's regime and exchanged visits at the foreign ministerial level -- at a time when the SCIRI was fighting the regime. "We have had contacts with the Americans for the past 12 years when the Iranians did not establish any diplomatic relations and they did not put pressure on us because of those contacts," explained Gabr, who has been engaged in a dialogue with US officials via the US Embassy in Damascus since 1993.
Al-Hakim's visit coincided with the arrival of the newly-appointed viceroy in Iraq, Paul Bremer, who replaced the retired General Jay Garner to run the affairs of an occupied Iraq. It also comes at a time when the Iraqi opposition groups are coming under heavy pressure to name the six members that will represent the interim government. While the SCIRI is represented in those meetings by Al-Hakim's brother, the grand Ayatollah himself explained that he will not participate in any US supervised meetings. Gabr expressed the SCIRI's dissatisfaction with the status quo. He explained that all along the SCIRI has opposed the idea of a US military intervention to ouster Saddam Hussein's regime. He disclosed that the group, along with other opposition movements, presented a proposal at the Istanbul meeting held at the beginning of March for a non-military strategy to topple Saddam, but it was snubbed by the Americans. "The SCIRI did not approve of the idea to have an American military ruler in Baghdad. The Americans feared that if there was a popular movement against Saddam, they might not have things under their control. This explains why they opted for a military intervention." "But now we do not have a clear idea of what the true intentions of the Americans are in Iraq. Almost a month after the end of the war, there is still no civil administration to fill the political and security vacuum, there is a critical shortage in humanitarian aid in Iraq and the Americans are not setting a timetable to leave the country," Gabr said.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/638/re8.htmMore on SCIRI:
Estimates of SCIRI's present strength vary: the CPA estimated (Jun04) that Badr corps had 16,500 active fighters. Most estimates had placed it at about 10,000 guerrillas in total. It had made claims to having 8000 operating inside south/central Iraq prior to the ousting of the Ba'th (including the Badr corps, operating out of Iran; later reports from Jan03 put the strength of the Badr Brigades at 10-12,000, with a leader claiming it has three sectors) and once claimed to have 70,000 fighters in 2 training camps in Sulaymaniyya. Was selected by the US for funding through the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, an offer which it refused. In Dec01, seemed to welcome outside military intervention to topple Saddam, and supported a 1-year transitional government followed by elections; however, from early 2002 (and Bush's inclusion of Iran within the "axis of evil"), voiced opposition (Feb, Mar, Jun) to a US invasion of Iraq, arguing that this would cause unnecessary suffering & lead to a US occupation of the country. However, with Iranian permission, continues contacts with US, with a delegation headed by 'Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim (head of SCIRI's military wing and then deputy leader; Muhammad Baqr's younger brother; interview here) attending the Washington meeting on 9Aug02; continued to oppose US military action after the meeting, but agreed to cooperation militarily with the KDP in Sept02 (see KDP notes); from late Oct02, was indicating that US assistance might be welcome in overthrowing Saddam, as long as the US does not have a role in establishing a post-Saddam government (1,2,3): possibly could be interpreted as requesting US protection (esp from fear of Iraq's readiness to use non-conventional weapons on insurgents) rather than US intervention. Has been ambiguous in its support for a federal Iraq, giving the concept formal support whilst speaking of popular acceptance as a necessary precondition. Participated in "Group of 4" meetings (with INA, PUK & KDP) to coordinate opposition outside the framework of the INC; and established its dominance at the London conference of December 2002, reflected in the scale of its representation on the follow-up committee. Seemed to have come to coordinate more closely with the INC, with Hakim holding a meeting with Chalabi in Tehran on 9Dec02. However, problems arose in Jan03, when the US made it clear that it envisaged a longer term military occupation of Iraq; this was denounced by SCIRI. Reportedly moved a large number of its troops (up to 5000) into northern Iraq in mid-Feb03, to prepare for a US assault on Iraq, despite US warnings.
During the US invasion, SCIRI urged its followers not to oppose the US forces, but to remain neutral, and for the UN to take over the administration of Iraq; however, as the plans to install a new administration in Iraq became clear, it has become more vocal in opposing US measures: it boycotted the Nasiriya meeting of 15 April to plan a post-Saddam Iraq, and the Badr brigade has taken control of towns near the Iranian border (eg Baqubah); it sent a low-level delegation to the Baghdad meeting of 28Apr. Its main base is now Kut, where 'Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim has been based since 16Apr; SCIRI has installed Sayyid Abbas (b.1951?) as mayor, despite US opposition and attempts to evict him from the mayor's mansion. SCIRI now strongly supports the end to the US military presence in Iraq immediately, and argues that an Islamic republic will be installed through the majority support of the people after an intermediate stage. In early May, Iranian newspapers reported that Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim was considering relinquishing the leadership to 'Abd al-Aziz, in order to become the spiritual figurehead. On 10May, Muhammad Baqr crossed over to Basra, where he rallied huge crowds there, in al-Nasiriya and Samawa, before returning to Najaf, calling for a withdrawal of US forces and the establishment of an Islamist state, but disavowing the use of force to achieve this. Other SCIRI spokespersons describe the goal not as a theocracy but as a state in which religion plays a significant role (eg Bayan Jabr, May03; Hamid al-Bayati, May03). The Badr brigades seem to have only given up their heavy weapons in the amnesty, and the US has made forcible attempts to disarm them of other weapons by taking over SCIRI offices (eg, in al-Jadiriya, Baghdad on 21Jun, Wasit and Kut on c.23Jun). Nevertheless, SCIRI has continued to condemn attacks on US forces (eg sermon of Muhammad Baqr on 27Jun), and accepted a place on the Governing Council for 'Abd al-Aziz. Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim was assassinated in the Najaf bombing of 29 August 2003; 'Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim has taken over leadership, with some viewing his son, Muhsin, as likely to take over his role in the Governing Council. An assassination attempt on 'Abd al-Aziz on 21Nov03 in a Baghdad mosque failed as the rocket did not explode. There was a bomb attack on the Badr brigades' headquarters in Baghdad on 19Dec03
~snip~
It has offices in northern Iraq, Syria, the UK (West Kensington), France, Austria and Germany as well as Iran. It opened an office in Washington in late 2002. Website here; older version here. Its regular newspaper is al-'Adalah (issued three times a week in 2004); also has an occasional newspaper, Nida'a al-Rafidayn.
http://middleeastreference.org.uk/iraqiopposition.html#sciriMore on Bayan Jabr (can't vouch for the source, but interesting nonetheless):
Everyone is well aware that Baqir Solagh, to use his real name rather than Bayan, his nom de guerre, is a member of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) headed by Abdul Aziz al Hakim and its armed wing, the Badr Brigade, affiliated with the Ittilaat, the Iranian intelligence agency, and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards. At the helm of all these groups is Grand Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran. Given such connections, Solagh should be the last to preach democracy and invoke the laws of Hammurabi.
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:lqoTbobQJ40J:aawsat.com/english/news.asp%3Fsection%3D2%26id%3D2037+Bayan+Jabr+Solagh&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4This further supports the truthout article about Jabr (Bayan Jabr Solagh)targeting Sunni's:
Iraq Interior Minister Okayed Torture: Ex-General
BAGHDAD, January 16, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iraq's Interior Minister Bayan Jabr Solagh and senior officials at his ministry have condoned torture and abuses of detainees, a ministry's whistle-blower who was in charge of the special forces unit said in new statements.
Muntazar Al-Samarrai, who fled Iraq for Jordan last year, said an interior ministry squad has been set up at Solagh's orders, which intimidated Iraqis, mostly Sunnis, and arrested scores without court warrants, Reuters reported Sunday, January 15.
"The squad was receiving orders from Solagh directly and were interrogating people without court approval," Samarrai, a Sunni Arab with a long career in the military, told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel.
~snip~
Samarrai said that the squad's main headquarter was in the Baghdad-based bunker of Al-Gardiyah, where some 170 prisoners were found malnourished and showed signs of torture.
Sunni leaders have accused the Shiite-dominated interior ministry of taking a leading role in severe abuses, including the targeting of Sunnis by "death squads."
~snip~
The US Ambassador to Iraq has called for replacing Solagh. "You can't have someone who is regarded as sectarian as the minister of interior," Zalmay Khalilzad said in December.
~snip~
Solagh is facing mounting pressures to step down.
The former Iraqi general reiterated earlier press statements that Solagh had appointed thousands of Badr Brigades, the disarmed militia of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), in his ministry.
He said anew the interior ministry chiefs were all members of SCIRI or the Shiite Dawa party and that the prisoners were "all Sunnis."
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:OD2-7adLYLAJ:islamonline.net/English/News/2006-01/16/article04.shtml+Bayan+Jabr+Solagh&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5
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