Al Jazeera interview with Mowaffak al-Rubaie

Will ISIL put an end to Iraq? – Head to Head interview with Mowaffak al-Rubaie

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• Iraq’s former National Security Advisor admits sectarian policies after 2009 and some human rights violations under Nouri al-Maliki.
• Mowaffak al-Rubaie rejects Amnesty International’s call to disband Iraq’s militias. Says these are popular mobilization forces that have to be incorporated into the new Iraqi security force.
• MP for Baghdad says United States must “synchronize their policy” in Iraq and Syria, and make a “deal with Assad” to defeat ISIL.
• The Iraqi politician reveals specific advice he gave US officials before the 2003 invasion.
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(Doha – November 20) Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s former National Security Advisor, tells Al Jazeera’s Head to Head that at times the Iraqi government behaved in a sectarian manner. Drawing a distinction between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s first and second terms, al-Rubaie says “the first Maliki government was not sectarian” but that “policies were reversed in the second Maliki government”.

This exceptional admission from a member of al-Maliki’s inner circle came in an interview with Mehdi Hasan for Head to Head’s brand new series, airing on Friday 21st November on Al Jazeera English.

Responding to charges of sectarianism levelled against the Iraqi leadership, al-Rubaie agrees that some of al-Maliki’s policies “alienated the Sunni tribes” through his treatment of the Awakening fighters, who say they were betrayed by their government after they drove out al-Qaeda in 2007.

In answer to accusations of human rights abuses by Iraq’s security forces and Shi’a militia groups, al-Rubaie admits that “some units of the Iraqi security forces were involved in human rights violations” but insists he had no power to stop them as National Security Advisor.

However, he staunchly defends the militias for their role in the fight against ISIL, exclaiming, “When you have an existential threat and ISIS is storming and wanting to occupy Baghdad, you use anything, everything – whether what you call militias, or you use barrel bombs.”

When asked if he would support Amnesty International’s call to Prime Minister al-Abadi to disband Iraq’s militias, he responded: “Absolutely not! These mobilization forces have defended Baghdad, safeguarded Baghdad and protected Baghdad against ISIS. And now we are incorporating them into the Iraqi security forces.”

Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan also grills al-Rubaie on Iraq’s ISIL strategy and foreign involvement. The Iraqi politician is bluntly critical of the Obama administration, telling Hasan that “it took the United States government two months to respond with abysmal air strikes against ISIS in the North and three months in the South,” while “it took the Iranians only a day. They sent a planner and they sent help and they have defended Baghdad.”

Al-Rubaie also points out some inconsistencies in US strategy: “the United States government is helping Iraq to defeat ISIS in Iraq, and is helping ISIS in Syria to defeat Assad. They have to synchronize their policy.” Controversially, he recommends that the US “deal with Assad on a temporary basis”, insisting that “the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know”.

Reflecting on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, al-Rubaie reveals for the first time details of meetings he attended with US officials in 2002, when the Iraq War was still being planned: “We told them: until and unless we form a government from day one after the removal of Saddam Hussein, there's going to be a problem in this country – it will explode. Once you remove Saddam Hussein, the three communities will aspire for their own identity. The Americans ignored our advice.”

During the interview, al-Rubaie and Hasan also discuss the legacy of the Iraq War and whether Iraq is now a failed state.

Hasan is joined by a panel of three experts: Dr Anas al-Tikriti, a British-Iraqi analyst and CEO of the Cordoba Foundation; Dr Abbas al-Hussaini, former Executive Member of the Iraq Reconstruction Group and a friend and ally of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi; and Professor George Joffé, Senior Fellow at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge.

This interview with Mowaffak al-Rubaie is part of the third series of Head to Head, which is Al Jazeera’s forum for ideas, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.

In each episode, Hasan goes head to head with a key guest, posing the probing and hard-hitting questions few dare to ask on the big issues such as faith, foreign intervention, the financial crisis and US foreign policy. The third series also features former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and former Vice President of the European Commission Viviane Reding.

Will ISIL put an end to Iraq? with Mowaffak al-Rubaie will be broadcast on Friday November 21st at 20:00 GMT and repeated on Saturday November 22nd at 12:00 GMT, Sunday November 23rd at 01:00 GMT and Monday November 24th at 06:00 GMT.

The show will also be available online after it first airs: http://aje.me/1uAyTM4

For more information on Series Three of Head to Head:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/

All episodes of previous series are available online:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/previousseasons

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