text: IBRAHIM AL-SHIMARY, ISLAMIC ARMY OF IRAQ (through translator): America and Iran have occupied Iraq. America is the disease that caused the infection which is the Iranian occupation.
  WARE: He also brings a reality check with regards to the sectarian violence here in Iraq, saying that his faction of the insurgency is not directly opposed to the Shia; however, they will respond if attacked. It's a very, very savvy interview by this spokesman, displaying a keen awareness of domestic American politics -- Soledad.
  S. O'BRIEN: At the same time, Michael, this group, which is the Islamic Army of Iraq, how big are they? I mean, and to what degree would negotiating, realistically, with one insurgent group make a difference with all the insurgent groups that are operating in Iraq right now?
  WARE: Well, this is a very key organization. It comes from a broad alliance of Sunni insurgent groups which represents part of the main body of the Sunni insurgency.
  Now, as we all know, al Qaeda is responsible for the spectacular suicide bombings and has led the way in inflaming the sectarian violence, yet the daily drip-feed of attacks against U.S. forces and against Iraqi security force allies is carried out by the Sunni insurgents, former Ba'athists, former members of Saddam's military and security apparatus. Now this group represents an alliance of that body of the insurgency. And to back it up, they have also provided us rather graphic and rare footage of their operations against U.S. forces -- Soledad.
  A key faction of the Sunni insurgency has reiterated its call to negotiate or open dialogue with U.S. forces. In a videotaped question and answer with CNN, the spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq says the group is prepared to talk with U.S. commanders. The spokesman, Ibrahim al-Shimary, also discusses the role of al Qaeda in the country, the sectarian violence in Iraq, and the nature of the Sunni insurgency.
  SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: One insurgent group in Iraq says it wants to negotiate with U.S. forces. A spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq -- if we take the videotape here, you can see that he's covered up his face in the video. And this video was obtained on Sunday by CNN. This spokesman spells out a set of conditions that would end the group's participation in the insurgency. Let's get right to CNN's Michael Ware. He's in Baghdad for us.
  Yes, we've had a very rare opportunity to gain access to the Islamic Army of Iraq insurgent organization. This is the leading insurgent group among a broad faction of the insurgency responsible for many of the attacks against U.S. forces. We effectively were able to conduct an interview with the spokesman of this group by forwarding questions and having that videotaped response come back.