A group of prominent Iraqi exiles is making a renewed push to unify the country's disaffected Sunni Arab minority into a cohesive political coalition and say their support is vital for beating back the Daesh (the so-called IS) group. The fledgling coalition plans to open an office in Washington in the coming weeks to advocate their cause directly to American policymakers, the initiative's main backers told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. The group aims to draw support from a broad spectrum of Sunni Iraqis, articulating concerns that many in the community feel have long been ignored by Iraq's Shiite-dominated government. Sunnis ruled Iraq until the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein and handed power to the country's Shiite majority, a tectonic shift at the heart of much of the unrest that followed. The Sunni-dominated cities of Mosul, Ramadi and Fallujah are firmly in the hands of Daesh, which has seized large swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria. While Daesh main targets are Shiites and followers of faiths other than Islam, the group frequently kills Sunnis it views as political rivals or those who simply refuse to bow to its will. "Sunnis are asking the classical question: are they part of Iraq? If the answer is yes, we have to be a real partner," said former Iraqi Finance Minister Rafia Al-Issawi, who is part of the coalition. "It's time now to convince the international community ... that we are the classical and the real ally to fight against Daesh, because it is our provinces that have been occupied by Daesh," he continued. Many Iraqis remember Al-Issawi as the official whose bodyguards were arrested in a terrorism-related sweep in late 2012 by security forces loyal to then-prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki — a move Al-Issawi blasted at the time as a politically motivated kidnapping. The arrests sparked months of protests and sit-ins in Sunni areas, galvanizing longstanding Sunni feelings of marginalization that Daesh extremists were able to exploit. Sheikh Khamis Al-Khanjar, a wealthy Iraqi businessman who lives in Dubai, is another backer of the coalition. He is joined by Atheel Al-Nujaifi, who served as the governor of Ninevah province but was later removed from office following the Daesh takeover of the provincial capital of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. They say they are committed to crushing Daesh but fear that the Iranian-backed Shiite militias that have proved effective in fighting the militant group on the ground pose a grave threat to their communities. "The truth is Daesh and the Shiite militias ... are two sides of the same coin," Al-Khanjar said. "The terrorism that the Shiite militias are spreading may even be worse than what Daesh is doing." Within the next two months, the Sunni coalition leaders plan to open their Office of the Arab-Sunni Representative for Iraq in Washington. In the meantime, they are visiting regional countries to promote their vision, Al-Khanjar said. Al-Khanjar denied that foreign governments are financing the initiative — calling such suggestions a "distortion" — and insisted it is being funded by Iraqi business people. But he did not rule out seeking outside help — including military aid — down the road. "We currently don't need any financial help, although if we did and we asked the Arab countries for it, I'm sure they would be more than willing to help. We need military and political backing once our project begins," he said.
