The Man Wrecking Iraqi Reconciliation

Ali Faisal al-Lami, accused of being a member of Asa'ib Ahl al Haq and of masterminding a bombing that killed 10 people, was among those recently released from United States custody. Mr. al-Lami denies both charges.  (Johan Spanner for The New York Times)

Ali Faisal al-Lami, an admitted supporter of the Iranian-supported Leagues of the Righteous, is the man behind the attempted barring of Saleh al-Mutlaq from the upcoming election. In August last year, the New York Times profiled the reconciliation of the Shiite insurgents and some of the detainees being released.

Among those released recently was Ali Faisal al-Lami, the former director general of Iraq’s de-Baathification council. The military held him for nearly a year after accusing him of organizing a bombing that killed two American Embassy employees, two American soldiers and six Iraqis at a district council meeting in Baghdad last year.

“The Americans are leaving Iraq defeated,” Mr. Lami said in an interview on Monday, three days after his release from Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport, where so-called high-value detainees are held. “Everything they are doing right now is to save face.”

Mr. Lami said his release was part of a government deal with the League, though he described himself as a “supporter” of the group rather than a member.

Lami's attempt to block a well-known Sunni politician confirm the suspicions of a disenfranchised Sunni population; that the new Iraqi government is deeply sectarian and serving an Iranian agenda. The fact that someone with Lami's recent history can return to such a high-level position speaks volumes to the Iraqi government's current state. Within the past week, Lami commented to the press on the Leagues' recently released leader Qais Khazali.

"Qais has already given great service to Iraq, first as someone who served the resistance and then as someone who helped placed pressure on the occupiers to commit to the withdrawal of foreign forces," said senior Shia figure Ali Faisal al-Lami, who is closely aligned to the Righteous League. "He was already politically involved when he was spokesman for Muqtadr al-Sadr and he will resume a political role even if it is not as part of the government."

In 2008 Lami was suspected of links to Moore's kidnapping and spent 18 months in American detention, where he was interrogated by an MI6 officer who was leading the government's efforts to find the IT consultant and his four guards. In prison he spoke regularly to Khazali, along with Khazali's brother Laith and a third man, Lebanese Hezbollah member Ali Mahmoud al-Dakduk. The three were captured by the SAS in March 2007. Moore and his guards were kidnapped two months later, partly to be used as pawns for the trio's release.

Today, a "former" insurgent is using his position in the government to push alleged Baathists out of the government. With Maliki and Lami sharing a similar Baath paranoia, it is no wonder Lami is back in his old position during this critical period before parliamentary elections. The LA Times noted that this Iranian proxy and sectarian actor was behind the attempt to bar Mutlaq.

The Justice and Accountability Committee charged with checking that candidates don't have ties to Baathists has named Saleh Mutlak, a prominent lawmaker, among those disqualified from the elections, according to the panel's executive director, Ali Lami.

That means that Mutlak's Iraqi Dialogue Front also will be barred, said Lami, who was detained by the U.S. military for a year on suspicion of ties to Iranian-backed militias.

Only time will tell if the Justice and Accountability Committee's recommendations will be approved. For more on the Leagues of the Righteous and their reconciliation with the Iraqi government, read LongWarJournal's Bill Roggio's article "A Terrorist Goes Free: Apparently we do negotiate with hostage-takers."