The London-based Azzaman newspaper said Monday the Iraqi resistance's march over the past five years of the occupation had seen pivotal transformations that could be divided into two periods.

The editorial -- "The Islamic character of the armed groups doesn't eliminate openness on other fronts" -- said the first stage began with the U.S. invasion on April 9, 2003, and the second began on Feb. 5, 2007 when five resistance groups united and formed the Jihad and Reformations Front followed by eight groups that formed Jihad and Change and then 22 groups Jihad and Liberation.

"The three fronts contain 34 groups united under one general leadership," the paper said.

The paper said initial signs of the Iraqi resistance were a natural reaction to the U.S.-led occupation. It didn't take the resistance long to organize its methods, the paper said.

"Thus, the resistance fast increased in number and cost the occupation forces many losses on a continuous daily basis," the paper said.

Azzaman said the resistance carried out 300 operations a day against the occupation forces, proof, it said, that Iraqis were ready for jihad and they have experience in fighting gained through "fighting the Iranians and Israelis."

The paper said though the main character of these groups is Islamic, they are not all pure Islamic movements.

"The Islamic Army brigade, for instance, could have an Islamic mentality in its character but its military leaders are former Iraqi officers who tend to have national mentality," the paper said.

It said the reality that not all groups are Islamic strengthens relations between Islamic and national groups who are fighting a common enemy. The paper said the Iraqi resistance developed its methods in order to drain the occupier's capacity while it united with other groups against the occupier's plan to involve them in the political process.

In return, the paper said, the occupier made them false promises. The paper said the meetings secretly carried out in Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan failed to infiltrate the resistance's leaderships.

The paper said that 2008 will show a continuing of the resistance and called it a bad and shameful end for the Bush administration, which, the paper said, carried out a war based on lies.

The paper said the occupier's infiltration is still a possibility as long as the jihadi fronts don't have a united leadership. It said media rumors that resistance attacks against the occupation forces have decreased because, according to some, the resistance is joining with U.S. forces to fight al-Qaida and militias coming from Iran.

The paper said the White House forces this propaganda in order to find a "common goal" of fighting "terrorists." The paper said the United States has tried to convince armed groups the Iranians are one of Iraq's main enemies.

"The occupation forces have been trying to form the so-called the Awakening Councils to fight al-Qaida, and later recruiting these groups to fight the Iraqi resistance," the paper said.

It also said recruiting the resistance is a U.S. policy in order to decrease its own losses and to lessen the anger of the Iraqi resistance against them. It said the Iraqi resistance began fighting occupation forces when they dissolved the Iraqi army, police and governmental institutes and opened the borders for al-Qaida elements to infiltrate into Iraq.

"It was natural that most of the Arab Sunni areas embraced these foreign fighters especially after the Arab Shiite areas received and supported the new leadership from Iran and collaborated with Americans," the paper said.

It said when clashes took place between the U.S. and al-Qaida elements, most of the Iraqi resistance weren't involved because they kept the U.S. occupation forces as their main enemy.

It said the Iraqi resistance had achieved many victories through uniting the jihad fronts.

"The national responsibility obligates these fronts to unite under one leadership in order to get better results," it concluded.

With a united leadership, the Iraqi resistance will accomplish the third and possibly the last step in order to lead the country, and take Iraq back to its natural, historical and Islamic era.