Report: Iraqi rebel group balk at US proposals

The Christian Science Monitor reported last week that Ayatollah Mohammad Bakr al-Hakkim, leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) the leader of the armed Iraqi opposition group in Iran says "he doesn't want Washington's help."

The Christian Science Monitor said after an interview with al-Hakkim "Though courted for months by American diplomats to join in their effort to overthrow Mr. Hussein, Ayatollah al-Hakkim - also commander of the 10,000-strong Badr Brigade militia - urges caution."

"The 'Afghan model' of backing proxy forces, as the US did against the Taliban late last year, does not apply to Iraq, al-Hakkim says." The report cites a "Pentagon option includes a pincer operation toward Baghdad, with 50,000 American troops moving from the south with SCIRI's Shia Muslim guerrillas and 50,000 more moving from the north with Kurdish fighters."

Such plans are "very far-fetched" and a "bad idea," al-Hakkim told the The Christian Science Monitor.