Word: nationalists
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...HUNT FOR THE BOMB FACTORIES," about the massive weapons depots around Baghdad [Feb. 7], TIME referred to "nationalist fighters" who use the arms for their deadly operations. You should reserve the term nationalist for the millions of brave and determined Iraqis who risked their lives to demonstrate their commitment to a new, democratic Iraq by voting in the election. The choice of bullets over ballots is being made not by nationalists but by foreign and homegrown jihadists, Baathists and insurgent Sunnis. They are terrorizing the population they falsely claim to represent. The true Iraqi nationalists are those who seek, peacefully...
...secret meeting is taking place in the bowels of a facility in Baghdad, a cavernous, heavily guarded building in the U.S.-controlled green zone. The Iraqi negotiator, a middle-aged former member of Saddam Hussein's regime and the senior representative of the self-described nationalist insurgency, sits on one side of the table. He is here to talk to two members of the U.S. military. One of them, an officer, takes notes during the meeting. The other, dressed in civilian clothes, listens as the Iraqi outlines a list of demands the U.S. must satisfy before the insurgents stop fighting...
Hard-line Islamist fighters like Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda group will not compromise in their campaign to create an Islamic state. But in interviews with TIME, senior Iraqi insurgent commanders said several "nationalist" rebel groups--composed predominantly of ex--military officers and what the Pentagon dubs "former regime elements"--have moved toward a strategy of "fight and negotiate." Although they have no immediate plans to halt attacks on U.S. troops, they say their aim is to establish a political identity that can represent disenfranchised Sunnis and eventually negotiate an end to the U.S. military's offensive...
...such talks succeed? A senior official in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad says the nationalist insurgents "want to cut a deal, thinking we get ours and they get theirs." Any deal with the insurgents would be up to the new government, but embassy officials say they believe that reaching an accord should be the new government's top priority. Behind the scenes, the U.S. is encouraging Sunni leaders and the insurgents to talk with the government. A tougher job may be to convince the leaders of political parties about to assume power--many of whom were brutalized by Baathists...
...officers, but insurgents balked at the idea of meeting in Jordan. U.S. diplomats also initiated contact with conservative Sunnis known to have influence with the insurgents, such as Harith al-Dhari, the head of the Association of Muslim Scholars. Insurgent sources say that last summer a loose amalgam of nationalist groups--Mohammed's Army, al-Nasser al-Saladin, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and perhaps even the Islamic Army of Iraq--met to discuss forging a common political platform...