April 10, 2003

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Chalabi: Man of the Hour

As the US scrambles to assess world sentiment and weigh its options for an occupation government, one of the names most frequently mentioned has been that of Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi expatriate whom Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the coven have designated as a potential puppet-in-chief for the US-led government going forward. Chalabi has been around a while. Post-Gulf War I, he was a handpicked CIA asset in the formation of the US-directed Iraqi National Congress, elements of which the Bushies would now like to put in charge of post-war government to whatever extent they can get by with doing so.

There's only one trouble with Chalabi: He has no base of support in Iraq. His stronghold is within the walls of the Bush administration, and in recent weeks the Beltway has seen intense ground skirmishes over Chalabi between Wolfowitz of Arabia's advance forces and Powell's Eisenhower/Nixon Republican Guard. Chalabi's negatives are significant enough that even his backers are hedging their bets.

Meanwhile Chalabi is dancing as fast as he can:

Asked whether... Iraq would have a US administration up until elections, he said: "We see no room for US administration and indeed the United States has said they hope to assist Iraqis in forming an interim Iraqi authority."

Translation: The US must go--eventually. But of course these things take time.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 09:12 PM

 

Question of the Day: Saddam Sightings Redux

We haven't found him yet. Let's keep looking.

               "Madam, I'm Saddam!"

Mail me the details of your personal sightings and encounters, in no more than 100 words (please...).

sperry@citypages.com

Image linked from Bluto fan site.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 07:04 PM

 

A Reminder to Readers

If you check the box at the top of this page that opens links in new windows, you'll have an easier time cruising through here. Soon that will be an automatic--yes, an embedded--feature on this page, but for now...

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 05:29 PM

 

Democratic Iraq's First Media Event

What cheering crowd in Baghdad?

Greg Estabrook sent this item from DC Indymedia to a mail list I get:

The up-close action video of the statue being destroyed is broadcast around the world as proof of a massive uprising. Still photos grabbed off of Reuters show a long-shot view of Fardus Square... empty save for the U.S. Marines, the international press, and a small handful of Iraqis.

See the photo.

And here's a view of how it was cropped in news reports.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 05:15 PM

 

So This is Liberation

One of the more chaotic days so far

So much for the afterglow. One day after the world watched astounding footage of a celebration in the streets of Baghdad, that city and the rest of Iraq have gone back to giving a fair impression of a country still at war, Saddam or no Saddam.  

In the day's most explosive development, Kurdish forces seized the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In the words of this Reuters account, "the capture of Kirkuk rattled Turkey, which fears it could be the first step to an independent state that could spark separatism among Turkey's own Kurds." PS: Turkey is sending military observers to northern Iraq, with US approval.

Three or possibly more marines were killed in a suicide bombing in Saddam City, an impoverished northern suburb of Baghdad. One radio account I heard said the fighters there were not Saddam partisans but Syrians, Egyptians, and Algerians who had come to Iraq to wage jihad against the invaders.

A pro-US Shiite cleric, Abdul Majid al-Khoei, was hacked to death with swords and knives by a mob in Najaf. Meanwhile, in Najaf as in every city, there are nasty factional disputes waiting to be played out in the streets:

A 21-year-old Iraqi told Arab News: “Of course we are thrilled about this. But Saddam’s army was great and many of them remain in hiding. How long the resistance movement will stay in power is anyone’s guess. We’re all concerned about the internal fighting for control between the various resistance leaders of the different districts.”

Basra, still beset by looting and gang rule, has not learned to love its liberators: "Under Saddam, we were oppressed,'' said Hassan Hussein, 40, a driver. "Now it's the same, but only with different faces. We were hoping for a change.''

Still chafing at the non-role the Bush administration has in mind for his organization, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met today with Iraq's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Aldouri.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 05:01 PM

 

Journalists Die and Networks Lie

A story concerning the bombing of the Palestine Hotel and the mounting number of dead journalists in this three-week-old war.  

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 04:18 PM

 

That Flag on Saddam's Face

It was flying at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001...

Two things about yesterday's image of the Saddam statue draped in an American flag: The Arab media predictably hated it, and it turns out there is a story behind it, says Paul Wood of the BBC:  

Marines say that the US flag draped over Saddam Hussein's statue was the flag that was flying over the Pentagon on 11 September 2001.

It was later replaced with the Iraqi flag after the people shouted for it.

One of my close Iraqi friends went up to an American marine and said to him: "I'm going to exercise my right of free speech for the first time in my life - we want you out of here as soon as possible."

For the average American TV viewer, that should settle once and for all the question of Saddam's connections to Al-Qaeda and 9/11: If he wasn't involved, then what was that flag doing on his statue yesterday?

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 03:46 PM

 

Our Readers Spot Saddam!

Deposed despot has busy day; travels from Iraq to Alaska, visits Detroit, heads to Europe  

Anchorage, AK: Saddam seen driving cab and sporting "the most piercing glare you have ever seen," Wednesday a.m.

Dearborn, MI: Seen shopping for coffee filters (for processing chemical weapons?) at Kroger's market, late Wednesday afternoon.

London, UK: Spotted Thursday morning "with a Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of Soho in the rain." 

Unfortunately, Mapquest proved to be of little help in tracing Saddam's route.

Thanks to readers Check Six, Dennis Perrin, Tom Ware; illustration from a cool EC comics site.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 02:20 PM

 

Morning Roundup

I've got a busy few hours ahead, and I'll be putting up more posts later in the afternoon. For now, a quick run through some of the morning-after reaction:

After Saddam: An Arab News editorialist writes,

It is important now, more than ever, to remain focused on what is really going on. The plan to invade Iraq was drawn up long before Sept. 11 by individuals who are now members of the Bush administration. They had, and still have, close ties with major energy firms whose chief concern is oil....  For the Iraqi people to be rid of a tyrant only then to be vulnerable to exploitation by the conservative Zionist junta who have taken over the White House is merely for them to be thrown from the frying pan into the fire.

The Garner Plan: A three-zone "interim civilian administration."

Syria: Still on Rummy's Hot List. More on Rumsfeld's tough words.

Northern Iraq: Kurds take Kirkuk.

Nervous Neighbors: Other countries around the Middle East wonder who's next.

Israel: Ha'aretz says US had deal for veto power over any Israeli retaliation toward Iraq. 

Israelis/Palestinians: Israel braces for news on Bush's "road map"; Arab critics say it's another sham.

Posted by Steve Perry at April 10, 2003 08:49 AM

 

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