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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (10356)	4/9/2003 1:15:48 AM
From: Volsi Mimir	Respond to of 21614

Different faction-- exiled and returning home. story.news.yahoo.com Prominent among the returned exiles are politician Ahmad Chalabi, Shiite leader Abdel Majid al-Khoei, and Youssef al-Khairallah, a tribal chief. Al-Khairallah, who returned to his hometown of Rifaee in Nasiriya province 180 miles south of Baghdad, said he and his tribe were able to restore the town and other adjacent villages to normal. He said all government offices, police stations, schools and hospitals have resumed services while electricity and water supplies were restored. "We want to build a new Iraq, an Iraq that is a place of peace and opportunities for all its citizens," he said by satellite phone. "This is a good beginning." Chalabi aspires to lead post-Saddam Iraq, but many have questioned the extent of his support. In a statement issued Sunday by his London-based Iraqi National Congress, Chalabi portrayed himself as an important force, claiming he had moved to the southern city of Nasiriya with 700 members of the 1st Battalion Free Iraqi Forces. The Free Iraqi Forces are exiles trained to help the U.S. military by serving as interpreters and guides. "We are proud to contribute our forces to Operation Iraqi Freedom," the group's statement quoted Chalabi as saying. "The war of national liberation which Iraqis have waged for 30 years is now nearing its end. We call on the Iraqi people to join with us in removing the final remnants of Saddam's Baathist regime." Al-Khoei, a son of the late Ayatollah Abu al-Qassim al-Khoei, the spiritual leader of millions of Iraqi Shiites, said by telephone Monday that he and a group of exiled Iraqis have helped persuade locals in the southern city of Najaf to cooperate with U.S. troops. Other Shiite clerics have ruled against such cooperation. Al-Khoei had lived in London since he defected after the 1991 Shiite uprising crushed by Saddam. He said he had returned to Najaf shortly after it was liberated by the U.S. troops last week to try help calm the Shiite holy city and restore order. By getting in early, he also may get a jump on other Shiite leaders in building popularity. Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, whose Shiite Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq is the largest Iraqi opposition group, has decided to return to Iraq from his exile in Iran. His spokesman, Haj Abu Zeid, said al-Hakim had not yet decided when he would go. Al-Hakim's group, which claims to have 10,000 fighters, has said for years that it has spread guerrillas throughout Iraq in anticipation of a revolution. Abu Zeid said the group has told its troops inside Iraq to not confront U.S.-led forces and await Saddam's fall. However, he reiterated his group's rejection of a U.S. administration in Iraq.