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IRAQ: Mosul Finds More Than a Leader or Two
By Ferry Biedermann
MOSUL, Apr 29 (IPS) - Meshaan Jobouri is enjoying the spring in the garden
of the house where the former commander of the Mosul river police lived. The
militia leader is clearly in command of the group of followers who have
gathered around him.
"I liberated Mosul and therefore I have a responsibility to make sure the
population is cared for," says the well-dressed Jobouri. He says his troops
reinforced with dozens of "special soldiers" from the Kurdish Democratic
Party (KDP) entered Mosul half a day before the U.S. forces, and that he in
person accepted the surrender of the city.
The U.S. forces are not happy with Jobouri's bid to play a leading role
in running Mosul. Nor is the other Kurdish faction, the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), or apparently a large part of the population.
This northern city has become a battleground for rival militias.
About ten days ago, rivalries became violent when U.S. troops shot at
least seven demonstrators protesting against what they saw as Jobouri's bid
to take governorship of the city. U.S. troops forced Jobouri to evacuate the
governor's office that he had occupied.
Jobouri denies this version of the events. He insists he has no ambition
to become a leader in Mosul. "With my level of support and my importance in
the opposition, I set my sights higher than Mosul," he says. "I want to be
in the leadership in Baghdad."
The real cause of the bloodshed, he says, was the local U.S. commander,
who he describes as "a crazy Rambo". This commander raised the U.S. flag
over the governor's office and forced him out, Jobouri says.
Jobouri and his militia have established a 'field committee' to run
Mosul. He says he derives his mandate partly from the large Sunni Al Jobouri
tribe, which has a prominent presence around Mosul.
More importantly, he says, he was appointed field commander at a
gathering of Iraqi opposition parties at meetings in London and then in
Iraq.
Jobouri says he is one of six commanders approved by the Iraqi National
Congress (INC) during the days of opposition to Saddam Hussein. Others
represent Kurdish, Shia and another Sunni faction, he says.
The INC, though, seems to see Jobouri more as a rival than a colleague.
The INC has established its own presence in Mosul, and seems to be
cooperating with the U.S. army, which has guarded its meetings. The INC has
set up an alternative leadership in Mosul under the leadership of Ayad
Hamdani from another large local tribe, the Al Hamdani.
Hamdani claims that a leading sheikh of the Al Hamdani arranged the
surrender of Mosul. He now calls himself chairman of the 'management
committee', and like Jobouri, he promises to restore services and security.
The unpopularity of Jobouri has a lot to do with claims that he was at
one time closely associated with the family of Saddam Hussein. He is said to
have been the bodyguard of the dictator's eldest son, Uday.
Jobouri denies allegations of a nexus with Uday. "I only knew Uday
briefly in 1989, just before I broke with the regime," he says. He
acknowledges that he had close ties with the Baath party and with Saddam
Hussein.
"I supported them because they fought Shia Muslim fundamentalism and
Iran, just like most people in Iraq and even the Western democratic
countries," he says.
Baath associations will not go against him, he says, because in Mosul
every family "has at least one member who was Baath or Republican Guard or
even Fedayeen Saddam."
Not surprisingly, he favours a forgiving approach towards Baath members.
"The opposition has lists of people to arrest, but I will not take part in
that," he says. The INC in Mosul also sounds a forgiving note, but its
leaders are much more intent on rooting out the Baath party.
That split goes all the way to the U.S. establishment. The Pentagon and
U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld seem to support the INC and its
fighters, the Free Iraqi Forces. Jobouri is backed by the KDP, which has
close ties with the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).
INC leaders in Baghdad have protested against "irresponsible CIA
meddling" which means induction of old Baath hands to keep ruling Iraq, they
say.
Jobouri in the meantime seems unconcerned about the rivalry. Every night
at 9 pm he gives a speech on local television where he gives an update on
events and sets out his own political agenda. Among other things, he
declares that television in the new Iraq will not be used for political
purposes by the government.
"I think I would like to be minister of telecommunications and transport
in Baghdad," says Jobouri, "I think I could do well at that."
(END/2003)
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