MESOP COMMENTARY : Do the Iraq rebels belong to ISIS, the Baath party, or clans? : Al-Arabiya Abdulrahman al-Rashed
The presence of ISIS will not alter the major facts of the struggle in Iraq. One third of the population is being punished by the regime for sectarian and opportunistic political reasons. It’s normal that they’d revolt against the regime and they will continue to be against it.
The al-Qaeda organization has learnt to sneak in where there’s an angry society and major political vacuum, just like it did in Afghanistan and Syria. But let’s keep in mind that the aims of al-Qaeda and its groups don’t meet the aspirations of angry Iraqis and that al-Qaeda views these Iraqis the same way it views the regime – as religiously lost.
What adds to the threat of ISIS and al-Qaeda is Nouri al-Maliki, who is willing to commit massacres to stay in power – just like Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. In order to achieve Iraq’s stability, it’s a must to get rid of Maliki and al-Qaeda.