Intro and Analysis
The latest statement from the 1920s Revolution Brigades- linked to Harith al-Dhari- is notable for the following:
1. The group remains committed to a revolutionary path, and its strong stance against the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) is not promising for those hoping to build local Sunni allies on the ground to muster a force against IS. Though the 1920s Revolution Brigades has tried to distance itself from some of IS' criminal actions like attacking the Yezidis, that is only so in as much as the group perceives these actions as damaging to the reputation of the 'revolution', not because the group and its supporters think fighting IS is a priority in any way.
2. The superficial anti-sectarianism messaging here is also employed by the Ba'athist Jaysh Rijal al-Tariqa al-Naqshbandia (JRTN), which illustrates my prior points about the affinity between JRTN and Dhari.
3. This is the most explicit statement yet demonstrating the link between the General Military Council for Iraq's Revolutionaries (GMCIR) and the 1920s Revolution Brigades- a link I noted back in July as evinced by the 1920s Revolution Brigades social media and online magazine's advertisement of GMCIR operation announcements, photos and videos.
Translation (original here)
The Killing Silence
We have made clear our stance- in a prior message- about the international coalition and we have made clear that it is an alliance targeting the region and the Ummah on the pretext of terrorism. Despite the clarity of this issue to all, and despite the lack of concealment on the part of the members of the coalition of their plans, the results of this alliance of theirs during the past [few] days have been the best evidence, for the majority of the victims are civilians from the Sunni provinces by definition, and a great level of destruction has come about in the towns and villages of the provinces.
Despite all this, we witness a number of parties participating in this series of killing directly and indirectly: some of these parties bear Islamic banners, others national banners, both inside and outside Iraq, among Arabs and those besides them. We are not speaking about those who have participated in this campaign against Islam out of belief in or being deceived by the American slogan ("War on Terror")- the strange thing is the stance of those who know the truth of these deceptions- but rather those who are participating in the crime whether they know it or not, claiming that they will embrace neutrality in the battle between the two sides (Terrorism and Occupation). Will silence always be neutrality? And does neutrality always come to the path of safety?
Indeed limited reading of the conflict today will similarly produce limited results, and a division of the battle to two sides will lead to mistaken decision, for the parties in the conflict today are not limited to two parties only, but there are a number of parties in conflict with each other at the same time. Behold how the international coalition, in focusing on striking one side, assuredly empowers other parties- on the one hand- and on the other the creation of multiple parties within the spectacle of the conflict is assuredly an American creation. So for example the coalition is empowering Iran's interest and strengthening its militias- and that is being done with openly declared American cultivation- and there is no disguising of the fact that America has been able to turn the conflict from one of Sunni-Shi'a (embodied in the resistance) against occupation to one of Sunni vs. Shi'a. America is also the one today paying the Shi'a militias and behind it is Iran in the execution of this plan, and it [America] is striving at the same time to create a Sunni vs. Sunni conflict, so that the picture of financing for the Iranian militias may be completed with settlement of the field for them after the weakening of the most important and strongest enemy as a threat to these militias: that is, the factions of the Resistance represented in the General Military Council for Iraq's Revolutionaries, along with all the forces and tribes that support its project; but also the nursemaid for the factions of the resistance- all of them.
Therefore we warn against giving way to the American plans and being deceived by their false promises, and it suffices these parties to ask themselves and then America in their negotiations- in secret or public: How can you claim to be waging war on terrorism when you are supporting those who engage in it? How can you support the miltias with air cover on the battlefield and with political cover in the local and international assemblies? Whoever thinks that he can sit on the sidelines watching until the dust of the battles dissipates, we say to him: Indeed the arena of battle is your land, and its bonds are your people, and those in an alliance together in attacking you are your enemies, and the only one at loss is you, so your sitting on the sidelines is participation in this mechanism of killing, and your silence is weapons in the hand of your enemy. The only solution will be accomplished in a comprehensive project that begins with uniting ranks and resisting those who want to commit evil against our religion, our people and our land. Then we must tackle the problem at its roots by cleansing Iraq of all forms of occupation and its aspects, and we are continuing on this path, and we will not submit until God judges between us and our enemy, and He is the best of judges.
1920s Revolution Brigades,
Political Office,
1 Muharram 1436 AH
25 October 2014.