Bush says he had little contact with Chalabi

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N01373876.htm

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday distanced himself from Iraqi exile leader Ahmad Chalabi, the one-time top U.S. ally who was passed over for a job in the country's new interim government.

In the Rose Garden to praise newly announced Iraqi leaders, Bush said he had had little personal contact with Chalabi and that decisions on whether to include him or not in the new interim government were made by the U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.

"Mr. Brahimi made the decision on Chalabi, not the United States. Mr. Brahimi was the person that put together the group. And I haven't spoken to him or anybody on the ground as to why Chalabi wasn't taken," Bush said. snip

Bush said, "My meetings with him were very brief. I think I met with him at the State of the Union and just, kind of, working through the rope line, and he might have come with a group of leaders."

"But I haven't had any extensive conversations with him," the Republican president said.

more

That's Chalabi directly behind Laura Bush.

[thebigidea]

1. the only thing he's had "extensive conversations" with are bags of cocaine

[fertilizeonarbusto]

2. and bottles of Old Crow

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. And that little voice in his head

that tells him to do evil things, that he thinks is god talking to him.

[skypilot]

3. Uh huh.

Just like he had little contact with Kenny Boy Lay.

[Beetwasher]

5. Ken Lay Who errr I Mean Chalabi Who?

Ahh the cacophonous sound of backpedaling and trying to cover your ass...Too many pics of the Chimp all buddy buddy with this Iranian spy though!

[0007]

22. I had a bunch of photos from the Washington Post of Ahmad Chalabi

and the Republicans. One with John Warner, Bill Frist, Mitch O'Connell and Bennett was a real classic.

The link doesn't work anymore to bring 'em up. But I'm sure the Washington Post will be reminded to print them again.

I'm also sure many fiends will recall that junior and Chalabi spent more than a few hours together.

[UpInArms]

29. here's one of him with Jesse Helms

and Rick Santorum



and here's one with Bremer



and his arrival in Iraq with lots of military

[Beetwasher]

32. IRANIAN SPY HAD CLOSE TIES W/ BUSH ADMIN AND REPUB

LEADERSHIP!

Now why isn't this the blaring headline on every paper in the country with these pictures plastered everywhere. Here, I'll even start the piece:

"Suspected Iranian spy Ahmend Chalabi had close ties with top Republican leadership including top officials in the Bush administration, the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. Chalabi is suspected of passing highly classified information to Iran after being given access to these materials by officials high up in the Bush administration and the Republican leadership. Granting access to this type of information to an intelligence agent from a foreign country, especially during a time of war and one with a history of antagonism towards the US and listed as part of the "axis of evil" could be considereed high treason."

[displacedtexan]

78. Many more pics here!

http://ascrivenerslament.blogspot.com/

[dryan]

92. Question

Does A. C. have some sort of back problem, he looks like what grandpa used to say -- like he has a corncob stuck up his ***.

[Cocoa]

26. "I barely knew Ahmeddy-boy"

[jpgray]

6. He was next to your wife for at least one major speech, pal (nt)

[struggle4progress]

21. Maybe Laura was Chalabi's main contact.

[Malva Zebrina]

7. Is he running anything? He knows nothing and people want to vote for him?

http://www.forgotston.com/Hear,%20see,%20talk%20no%20evil.jpg

I mean really--how can he run for president--he knows nothing of what anyone is doing and he has been there for almost four years. I mean how much can he continue to deny. This is very very serious stuff--very very serious, although you would never know it if you read American media.

[Generator]

60. I know I know I know

Sometimes I try to avoid reading these things. The truth! How much disgust and outrage can you feel in one day????????

Oh, man, I "think" he was at the State of the Union?

Fire this piece of trash now.

[burythehatchet]

8. Yes. And perfect strangers are usually invited

to sit next to the first lady at the SOTU address

[Woody Guthrie]

9. The accoutability president...

I seem to recall something about restoring dignity and accountability back to the oval office but thig guy just keeps passing the buck.

[crossroads]

14. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[yardwork]

33. Welcome to DU and....great name!

[jpgray]

36. Welcome to DU. You're already present in the form of my avatar

:hi:

[OKNancy]

38. Hello fellow Tulsan

Welcome...love the screen name too.

[MidwestTransplant]

10. Fantastic. Now the press can dig up how many times and for how long

they met.

[Bozita]

15. Lazy-ass press never reported on the Ken Lay/Shrub friendship

The personal notes and memos between those two were never exposed in the American media.

Dumbya flew everywhere in '99 on an Enron jet. Try to find a video or still of Bush boarding or exiting that plane.

Too many Judith Millers; too few Sy Hershes.

[crossroads]

19. It will be interesting to see how this plays out!

The lies are now on record, but that minor fact never has stopped this guy and his coharts before!
:eyes:

[Melinda]

11. BS - Brahimi decided nothing till long after the US installed Chalabi

Darn those pesky facts!!

[stellanoir]

12. he had little contact. . .

but initiated a pre-emptive war based on Chalabi's (the known extortionist's) bogus (so-called) intelligence that's cost us 200 billion and collectively 10's of thousands of lives and debillitating injuries.

Oh but * had little contact. So never mind.

[EarlG]

13. This is Ken Lay all over again

Hmm, so Dubya had little contact with Chalabi. Barely even knew who he was in fact.

"just, kind of, working through the rope line, and he might have come with a group of leaders."

Special Guests of Mrs. Bush at the State of the Union

Dr. Adnan Pachachi President, Iraqi Governing Council Dr. Pachaci is President of the Iraqi Governing Council and President of the Iraqi Independent Grouping. He is former Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Minister Hoshyar Zebari Iraqi Interim Foreign Minister Mr. Zebari is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and was the KDP's head of International Affairs before being named Iraqi Interim Foreign Minister on September 1, 2003. He holds a Masters Degree in Sociology from Essex University.

Dr. Ahmed Chalabi Iraqi Governing Council Member Dr. Chalabi is founder and head of the Iraqi National Congress (INC). He is also a mathematics professor and a businessman.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040120-5.html

Hey, I bet Trent Lott didn't know Chalabi either!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

20. Clearly Pickles' fault.

He's running out of people to blame.

[EarlG]

27. You know, it just occurred to me

that maybe Bush DOESN'T know who Chalabi is.

Never mind the fact that Chalabi was being groomed by Bush's underlings to run Iraq. Never mind that Chalabi was responsible for passing to Bush's underlings much of the bogus information about weapons of mass destruction.

Maybe Bush did meet with him a couple of times. Maybe he nodded and smiled and when the meeting was over said, "who the fuck was that?"

And his underlings said, "Don't worry about it Mr. President. It's just some guy. No big deal."

I don't think Bush has a clue what goes on around him, nor do I think he cares.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Well, there is photographic evidence of being in the same room.

That's a known. The next question is "How involved was the relationship?" Your scenario is totally plausible----perhaps this is why the Republicans like to place persons of limited mental capacity at the helm. Reagan and Bush are both individuals of limited intellect but they both have some perceived "regular Joe" mojo. It's the perfect prototype to be able to spin in either direction. Iow, get "strong" or get "stupid." People can believe both.

[bpilgrim]

44. he only does what the voices in his head tell him to

ya know... the 'a-team'

why would you care when you got the best-n-brightest on board.

shoot even the bnb in the media were onboard as well :puke:

well, it is going to be very interesting to see how the media deals with the remainder of the 'a-team's' term.

apparantly they are going dem this time round but... will they keep at it till we start seeing people being frog marched out of this admin if resignations aren't agreed to before hand.

peace

[Cooley Hurd]

62. Very plausable - O'Neill (in his book) described Bush...

...during meetings as being distant, but not in a contemplative way - more like a glassy-eyed way. Crashcart might've paraded him thru along with other members of the INC.

Nope, Chalabi is Cheney & Wolfowitz's bud...

[axollot]

69. Thats my thoughts...

* and probably pickles too, really has no clue about why they went to war, about what is going on and who is who. In fact, isn't he the guy who will not do any interviews alone? Probably because he is told he cant. We need him out of office but first his staff needs to go, just like Gore said in his speech in NY.

[displacedtexan]

79. There's a pic of Bush* and Chalabi here.

http://ascrivenerslament.blogspot.com/

[crossroads]

24. Great research!

Thanks, I can't wait to email this article to one of his die-hard supporters...
Another lie exposed!
:evilgrin:

[kodi]

52. yeap. "i did not have social intercourse with those men"

least we forget bush's nickname for chalabi....."stickyfingers"

[FleshCartoon]

55. If I had a hard copy of that...

...I'd be tempted to mail it to Lott's office with a request for him to autograph it for me.

I'm one of his "constituents", and I use that term very freely.

[amber dog democrat]

16. I wager there are others he won't remember meeting with.

and eventually Rumsfeld may be one of them.

[UpInArms]

17. more revisionist history

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040520/photos_ts/mdf572741

The raid on Ahmad Chalabi's headquarters in Baghdad on May 20, 2004 marks an ignominious fall for a man who helped make the U.S. case to topple Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) but was seen as a duplicitous opportunist by U.S. diplomats and spies. Four months ago Chalabi was a guest of first lady Laura Bush at the State of the Union speech, Washington's premier political event, and a favorite of the Pentagon (news - web sites), which paid his Iraqi National Congress $340,000 a month for intelligence. President Bush (news - web sites) is shown with Chalabi (R) and Iraqi Governing Counsel member Dr. Jalal Talabani in Baghdad Nov. 27, 2003. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

[leftchick]

39. ah yes, the plastic turkey moment....

LOL.... "I don't know that Mr. Chalabi person!" Fuck You aWol*! This is one great photo-op that John Kerry should use against him!

[starroute]

40. "President Discusses Trip to Iraq with Reporters"

Remarks by the President to the Travel Pool
Aboard Air Force One

Q Mr. President, we were told you got to see Mr. Chalabi today?

THE PRESIDENT: I did see Chalabi. I met with -- well, let's see, I had the dinner, you saw that. I wasn't sure how long you were there, you probably timed it, but an hour or so -- are these the times? Oh, these are the people there.

I shook a lot of hands, saw a lot of kids, took a lot of pictures, served a lot of food and we moved on to see four members of the Governing Council -- the names are here. Talibani is the head of it right now, so he was the main spokesman. But Chalabi was there, as was Dr. Khuzaii, who had come to the Oval Office, I don't know if you all were in the pool that day, but she was there -- she was there with him, and one other fellow, and I had a good talk with them.

We were there for about maybe a little less than 30 minutes. I was able to assure them that we were going to stay the course and get the job done, but I also reminded them what I said publicly, that it's up to them to seize the moment, to have a government that recognizes all rights, the rights of the majority and the rights of the minority, to speak to the aspirations and hopes of the Iraqi people. I assured them that I believe in the future of Iraq, because I believe in the capacity of the people to govern -- as I said, govern wisely and justly. I meant what I said. I told them that privately. I told them I back Jerry Bremer a hundred percent. He's got my full confidence. He was sitting right there, as well. We had a nice visit.

They assured me that they were making good progress, that the Iraqi people are overwhelmingly pleased that Saddam is gone, that they do see a bright future, and they want us to -- they want to work with us.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031127-1.html

(This was, of course, the infamous turkey trip.)

[MGKrebs]

56. "Jerry" Bremer?? WTF is that?

The guys name is Louis Paul Bremer III. Jerry is his nick?

[Claire Beth]

18. Bush = lie lie lie n/t

[0007]

25. Well, there may be something to what's you saying, 'eh?

[74dodgedart]

23. Bush isn't intellectually capable of having "extensive conversations"

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

63. Well, maybe with Chalabi.... he does not stike me as the smartest

horse out of the gate either.

[Melinda]

28. Bremer installed Chalabi - Brahimi was vehemently against him - transcript

But I've got to say that, you know, the whole idea of firing the entire Iraqi army, which the administration of Bremer did at the very beginning, and then putting, of all people, Chalabi...

BLITZER: Ahmed Chalabi.

ROCKEFELLER: Yes. A Shia, and a mightily unpopular one in the country, and mightily unpopular on the Governing Council, in charge of that operation was really foolish. Now, they're backing away from that, and that is wise.

BLITZER: Was it a mistake to let Ahmed Chalabi have this high- profile role? He was a favorite, as you well know, over at the Pentagon. The vice president liked him, the vice president's office. But there was always concern at the State Department, at the CIA, over Ahmed Chalabi.

LUGAR: Well, there's currently been a conflict within our own government. In retrospect, probably not a good idea.

Now, of course, we come to the point in which Ambassador Brahimi, in trying to name the people, the 29 people for the new government, is pointedly pointing toward the fact that Chalabi will not be one of them. I heard Chalabi in an interview this morning indicating that he doesn't like Brahimi, believes he's a Sunni, essentially doesn't have the confidence of the Iraqi people.

That's one.

*edited for spelling

[Sideways]

31. Dr. Adnan Pachachi The FUCK next to pickles in this pic YUCK

Is the fuck the US wanted to install as President. The Iraqi Council defied US demands and this old fucking creep-shit has been sidelined.

Some say he was afraid of an early suicide so he graciously denied the offer. Doesn't he look well loved by the adoring PICKLES?

He must well understand the negative Midas touch the BFEE has. Everything they love turns to shit. And all that they spawn is shit.

Bush on Chalabi in todays press conference was like talking with a three year old about a bowel movement. "Yes Mommy Mister Turdicous is about to be flushed."

I can't get away from the sorry truth that when one talks about the Bush family it just comes down to shit.

[Don_G]

34. It's Possible Everything Went Through The CIA

Or Condi for plausible deny-ability. He's still lying or totally clueless which amounts to the same thing.

[Alpharetta]

45. "The Lie Factory"

The CIA wasn't given a chance to vet Chalabi's lies.

Take a look at this excellent diagram of how PNAC members in the Pentagon channeled Chalabi's lies to Cheney.

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/01/12_400.html

[Virginian]

84. Whether it did or didn't,

they can now claim that it went through the CIA.

[maddezmom]

35. cheney needs to answer the question of how many times he met Chalabi

[boobooday]

37. He didn't know Kenny Boy Lay either

He's very forgetful. Not a good quality in a "friend."

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[SeattleDem]

41. then we should thank Brahimi for uncovering a spy for Iran

so, Bush is saying that no one in the US intelligence agencies had any idea they were being so badly duped? That in fact, the UN just saved our asses by uncovering the truth about our top informanant on Iraq???

is he trying to make us look even more incompetent than he already has???

UN to the rescue of the US....

[Malva Zebrina]

42. Randi Rhodes keeps playing the Bush denial of association with Chalabi

should we be waiting around for any journalist to point out to the American people the absolute lies on the part of our presidunce?

Nope--do not hold your breath--no one will point out that the Chalabi was the guest of Laura the Stepford frump, the great "national comforter",in the balcony and they all applauded as Bush went through the rote of his address.

Yup, they were there--pictures do not lie.

But Bush does.

No one to point it out?

Figures--he has been given this pass from the media since day one.

[pinniped]

43. Maybe * should ask his stupid wife about chalabi...

n/t

[axollot]

71. ha ha!

Ive been calling b*ush the anti Christ well before 9/11. No I'm not a bible thumper but I do love the darkness of the Book of Revelations.

[Just Me]

46. Force all these people to live in poverty for a mere six months,...

,...they couldn't handle it,...I guarantee that they couldn't handle it. Take away all their "anchors",...force them into the lot of "the rest of us",...no lifejackets, no buoys,...and watch them sink,...

They deserve a taste of the real life. They have earned it.

[damnraddem]

47. Dubya has little contact with reality.

But then so does Chalabi. They don't need contact with each other, so long as they have Rumsfeld and Cheney.

[silverpatronus]

48. pass the buck on the left hand side...

brahimi is the newest scapegoat?

[SayitAintSo]

49. can you say ..... LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE !!!!!!

oh puh-leeze....the place of "honer" behind pickles doesn't go to just ANYBODY .... < "are you gonna believe me or what you see ...">

[justjones]

50. In other words, the chimp knows Chalabi so well, he knows if he wears....

boxers or briefs, not to mention what color they are on any given day.

If anything, whatever comes out of Bush's mouth means the exact opposite of what he means. This means he knows him WELL.

[daleo]

51. "I did not have war planning relations with that man, Mr Chalabi"

"Well it depends how you define war planning." Calling Kenneth Starr - there may an untruth far more important than a lie about consensual sex that you should look into.

[FleshCartoon]

53. Yeah, but...

...he didn't say Laura hadn't had extensive contact with Chalabi.

LOL. That dookus! We've got pictures you idiot-moronic little twit of a fraudulent president!

There, I feel better now.

[sampsonblk]

54. Bush is 100% consistent!

Chalabi is pretty crummy. But you can't blame Bush. Bush had little contact with Chalabi.

The reality in Iraq is pretty crummy. But you can't blame Bush. Bush has had little contact with reality.

See?

Emperor. Nekkid. Next.

[MGKrebs]

57. Who ya' gonna fire, punk?

If you didn't personally screw this up, then SOMEBODY who works for you did. They are incompetent. People in the intelligence business do not get to screw up on such a grand scale and get away with it. They should be arrested immediately and thoroughly investigated.

[Just Me]

61. Ewwwww,...so, true!!! The rest of the "free" market wouldn't escape

such magnificent incompetence. Why are the neocons given such latitude in utmost failure? It's not like they have ever earned any forgiveness (being the vengeful pack that they are).

They deserve to receive what they have given,...outside their elite circle of profiteers. Let us join together to ensure they get what they have dished out,...yes?

[Virginian]

83. How about the head of the CIA?

The passage of time answered your question.

[Francine Frensky]

58. I bet they claim Chalabi was a whitehouse sleep-over guest of Clintons

I say by tomorrow, this story will be all over right-wing radio -- clinton and chalabi were best friends.

[Darranar]

59. Bush lies. n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

64. No, Bush didn't meat with Chalabi that often

Cheney and Rumsfeld met with him quite a bit on Bush's behalf.

[leesa]

65. Bush is really relying heaviliy on his Sargeant Schultz model

"I know nothink!

[jobycom]

66. Ken Lay, James Bath, John W Hinkley, Chalabi-- Bush knew none of them

Bush has denied knowing any of these people. He denied knowing James Bath under oath, then had to recant. He lived a block or two from John W. Hinckley for over a year in Lubbock, while their fathers were close friends, and while Neil Bush was friends with John W's brother and father.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

68. Don't forget the Bin Laden family too!

He sure knows lots of crooks.

Makes you go, hmmmmmmm, don't it?

[amandabeech]

67. Bush doesn't have much contact with anyone who's not in his

little inner circle. It seems that he only really sees Pickles, Condi, Rove and Dick Cheney for any substantive discussion at all. George Tenet may show up to read him highlights of the daily security briefing, but it has been shown that Bush does not ask much in the way of questions. O'Neil has written that the cabinet meetings are well-scripted plays for posterity. Maybe Bush talks to Rummy once in a while, but the rest of his contact with the human race seems to consist of brief walk-throughs and photo-ops. Bush has to be one of the most isolated Presidents that we've ever had, and perhaps one of the most isolated people on the planet.

[nolabels]

70. This is just too much

After I am done laughing, I will laugh some more OMG

http://www.newcomicreviews.com/albums/RFAD/

[gulliver]

72. Did Clinton ever have an accused wartime spy ...

... for Iran sitting with his (Clinton's) family and friends while giving the State of the Union address? I can't remember that ever happening. I guess my memory is fading. I'm not sure Clinton ever had any spies sitting next to Hillary and Chelsea. It seems like he didn't...

[nolabels]

73. Get out of the way Chalabi, a bigger lying dog is coming in

Bottled irony anyone?

Bush has little intention of playing by the book

Saddam's gameplan may yet succeed in dividing his opponents

Richard Norton-Taylor
Monday December 9, 2002
(snip)
Ultimately the logic of the US argument is that, whatever is in the Iraqi declaration, and regardless of whether the UN inspectors find nothing and feel the Iraqis have cooperated, there will still be a case for war - because in that case the US's own undisclosed evidence means that Iraq will have lied and the inspectors been duped. This could drive a wedge between the US and the rest of the security council, including even Britain .

There is a further source of dispute. Straw said yesterday the resolution was "silent" on exactly who would determine whether the Iraq leader had committed a material breach of its obligations. The decision could be taken, not by the 15 security council members, he said, but by "the international community at large", whatever that means.

The resolution, in fact, says UN inspectors will report to the security council "any interference by Iraq with inspection activities, as well as any failure by Iraq to comply with its disarmament obligations". It would then "convene" and "consider the situation and "the need for full compliance".

All the signs, though, are that Bush is in no hurry - for a start, his military commanders are not yet ready. Meanwhile, British and US planes continue to soften up the air defence systems over southern Iraq, and Blair tries to soften up British public opinion by publishing a dossier about how brutal a dictator Saddam is. It may be argued Iraq would not have got this far without the threat of force. But the onus is now on those who want to use force to provide evidence for such a course of action.
(snip)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0%2C2763%2C856524%2C00.html


"This is not an appropriate place for
unleashing the begonias."

The Euphemism Generator
Hit "Reload" for ENDLESS FUN.
http://walkingdead.net/perl/euphemism

[ElsewheresDaughter]

74. and he didn't know kenny boy either

[gasperc]

75. except that meeting in the OVAL OFFICE to discuss Iraq

that he mentioned in his MTP interview

[wabeewoman]

76. Evidence bush is a pathological liar

http://atrios.blogspot.com/ Also a picture of bush with Chalabi

George W. Bush last Feburary, on Meet The Press (emphasis added):


Russert: If the Iraqis choose, however, an Islamic extremist regime, would you accept that, and would that be better for the United States than Saddam Hussein?

President Bush: They're not going to develop that. And the reason I can say that is because I'm very aware of this basic law they're writing. They're not going to develop that because right here in the Oval Office I sat down with Mr. Pachachi and Chalabi and al-Hakim, people from different parts of the country that have made the firm commitment, that they want a constitution eventually written that recognizes minority rights and freedom of religion.





George W. Bush yesterday , Rose Garden press conference:


Q Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Chalabi is an Iraqi leader that's fallen out of favor within your administration. I'm wondering if you feel that he provided any false information, or are you particularly --

THE PRESIDENT: Chalabi?

Q Yes, with Chalabi.

THE PRESIDENT: My meetings with him were very brief. I mean, I think I met with him at the State of the Union and just kind of working through the rope line, and he might have come with a group of leaders. But I haven't had any extensive conversations with him.
...

Q I guess I'm asking, do you feel like he misled your administration, in terms of what the expectations were going to be going into Iraq?

THE PRESIDENT: I don't remember anybody walking into my office saying, Chalabi says this is the way it's going to be in Iraq.

[DFWJock]

77. Bush had little contact with Chalabi

Brain cells have little contact with Bush

[Dover]

80. "....oh, except that ONE time we met. But I was too drunk to remember

much. Why? Was it something I said?"

[ElsewheresDaughter]

82. roflmao!

[nolabels]

81. Always best to keep reading, you might of missed something

Is the charade is wearing thin ?

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0603-10.htm
Who’s on First? The Baghdad Hand (Over) Job
by Marc Cooper


Stunning is the only way to describe what seems to be the precipitous collapse of the Pentagon’s political power in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld might still have 138,000 troops on the ground, but after the sacking of Ahmad Chalabi last week and the embarrassing tussle over who will head Baghdad’s transitional government, the U.S. military’s assets in Iraq’s fledgling political structure are quickly evaporating.

The old Iraqi Governing Council may have been handpicked by Rumsfeld’s field deputy and occupation overseer Paul Bremer, but now the council is biting back as it takes the lead in shaping the next administration. Pre-empting the desires of both the U.S. and the U.N., the council last week named Iyad Allawi as the prime minister of the regime that will asssume “sovereignty” on June 30. And then, on Tuesday, the same council gave the Bushies another kick in the nuts (and snubbed U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi) when it named its current leader, Ghazi al-Yawer, as president of the new government. To emphasize its cantankerousness, the council then dissolved itself, handing over its functions to the new government it helped to birth.
(snip)
University of Michigan scholar Juan Cole, one of the smartest analysts of Iraqi internal politics, points out that part of the American unease around al-Yawer stems from his coziness with the House of Saud. He spent a good spell of his exile living in Saudi Arabia and also enjoys the support of the religious Shiite parties, which, Cole says, might suggest that al-Yawer’s partial to shari’a, or Islamic justice. Those are some legitimately worrisome notions.

Some of U.N. envoy Brahimi’s better intentions have also been thwarted in the anarchic government-building process of the last week. He was determined to stock the interim regime with apolitical “technocrats” so that no particular political faction would have the advantage of incumbency going into next year’s scheduled Iraqi elections. But the government forged by the council is top-heavy with ambitious political hacks representing some of Iraq’s most entrenched parties.
(snip)

http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-06/03/article03.shtml
Allawi's Selection Followed PR Campaign In U.S.: Report
(snip)
The magazine attempted to shed some lights on his reported unpopularity among Iraqis.

It quoted the executive director of the ICRSS, Sadoun al-Dulame as saying that every newspaper that reported his appointment "has mentioned his CIA connection."

Allawi has sniped at the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq recently, but his ties to Langley (HQs of the U.S. Intelligence Agency, so infamous among Arabs in general) seem to have registered with Iraqis.

According to the Time, Allawi's Iraqi National Accord is funded by the CIA.

"He's a CIA man, like Chalabi," Raed Abu Hassan, a Baghdad University political science post-grad. told the Time.

"In this country, CIA connections are political poison
(snip)

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_05_23.php
I continue to think that something very important happened in this selection of Iyad Allawi. Precisely what, though, remains unclear.
(snip)
But there's something else that seems still stranger. One thing that is almost universally acknowledged is that the IGC is unpopular. It's seen as a proxy for the Americans and in that sense a tool of the occupation. Indeed, that seemed to be at the forefront of Brahimi's thinking.

If that's so, why would he introduce his pick for Prime Minister, not by announcing it himself, but by having it rubber-stamped (as the Times suggests) by the IGC, and then letting the news dribble out that he -- i.e., Brahimi -- was behind the decision? That seems like something you would do if the group doing the rubber-stamping had a great deal of legitimacy or popular support. In that case, the endorsement would add to the legitimacy of the pick.

But we've been led to believe that Brahimi believes just the opposite. Thus, introducing his pick of Allawi in this way seems like a good way to hobble or delegitimize him.

I'm not doubting the Times' reporting. Nor am I questioning that this is what happened. Something, though, just doesn't seem to fit.
-- Josh Marshall


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[ElsewheresDaughter]

85. * gave $27 million to chalabi in 2 yrs oh that's what compassionate ....

conservatism means! plus $400,000 a month to a total stranger

[Pachamama]

86. Yeah, just like he had little contact with Ken "Kenny Boy" Lay of Enron...

....Liar....

[denverbill]

87. Bush says he had little contact with Pickles, Pappy, or Babs.

Does he have any idea who this Tenet fellow is that is resigning? How about that bald guy who sat behind him at the State of the Union? Or that dufus who claims to be governor of Florida?

Maybe we should have him make a list of anyone he considers a friend, just for future reference.

[robbedvoter]

88. Atrios: W sat doen with Chalabi in the oval office

http://www.atrios.blogspot.com/2004_05_30_atrios_archive.html#108622561254607647


George W. Bush last Feburary, on Meet The Press (emphasis added):


Russert: If the Iraqis choose, however, an Islamic extremist regime, would you accept that, and would that be better for the United States than Saddam Hussein?

President Bush: They're not going to develop that. And the reason I can say that is because I'm very aware of this basic law they're writing. They're not going to develop that because right here in the Oval Office I sat down with Mr. Pachachi and Chalabi and al-Hakim, people from different parts of the country that have made the firm commitment, that they want a constitution eventually written that recognizes minority rights and freedom of religion. more
including more meetings.
Air America plays the dueling quotes on all the shows!

[yellowcanine]

90. Bush - " It doesn't count as contact if you use a condom."

.

[louis-t]

89. Chalabi is Perle's buddy

Together they bilked the Jordanian bank Chalabi was running out of millions.

[yellowcanine]

91. "But I haven't had any extensive conversations with him," No? What about

THIS, George?

"right here in the Oval Office I sat down with Mr. Pachachi and Chalabi and al-Hakim, people from
different parts of the country that have made the firm commitment, that they want a constitution eventually written that recognizes minority rights and freedom of religion.

How did you get such a firm committment out of Mr. Chalabi without having an extensive conversation with him?
Were you lying then or are you lying now? Which is it?