From the New Duranty Times:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – American officials are talking with local Iraqi insurgent leaders to exploit a rift that has opened between homegrown insurgents and radical groups like Al Qaeda, and to draw the local leaders into the political process, according to a Western diplomat, an Iraqi political leader and an Iraqi insurgent leader.
Clashes between Iraqi groups and Al Qaeda have broken out in several cities across the Sunni Triangle, including Taji, Yusefiya, Qaim and Ramadi, and they appear to have intensified in recent months, according to interviews with insurgents and with American and Iraqi officials.
In an interview on Friday, a Western diplomat who supports the talks said that the Americans had opened face-to-face discussions with insurgents in the field, and that they were communicating with senior insurgent leaders through intermediaries…
“We are Iraqis, and Al Qaeda came from outside our borders,” said Abu Omar, the nom de guerre of a member of the Islamic Army in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad. “They defame the name of the noble resistance inside Iraq.”
“Yes, we know with whom they meet,” Abu Amin said of the Americans. He said the Americans asked many questions about Al Qaeda: “Do you have a relationship with Al Qaeda? Can you help us attack Al Qaeda? Can you uproot Al Qaeda from Iraq?”…