[6] The figures associated with the GMCIR have stated that it has a central command and "the footprints of a professional army",[4] that it follows the Geneva Convention protocol rules,[7] as well as claiming to be non-sectarian and seeking a "democratic solution" to the Iraqi crisis.

[8] The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace characterized the GMCIR as an Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region front group.

"[13] The GMIR has close links with the Association of Muslim Scholars, a group that considers the current Iraqi government as illegitimate due to being the result of the United States occupation.

"[14] The presence of MCIR fighters on the ground has been noted by observers, who argued that United States airstrikes would "inflame" the situation in Iraq by not taking into account the diversity of the opposition to the al-Maliki regime.

Channels loyal to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, including the government's own al-Iraqiya TV, are rallying Iraqis to volunteer and fight to restore order and remove "terrorists".