Bush Hopes Allawi Can Reassure U.S. Voters

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?t

<snip>


Allawi, embarking on a two-day, whirlwind trip through Washington, was making a high-stakes appearance with Bush on Thursday, where the two leaders were to assert from the White House Rose Garden that progress is being made and the future is bright in Iraq.


Allawi also was to address a joint meeting of Congress.


Allawi's visit comes as troop casualties and civilian kidnappings in Iraq have increased, large parts of the country have come under the control of insurgents and doubts have surfaced at the United Nations (news - web sites) that democratic elections can be held in January as planned.


An assessment of Iraq's future put together recently by U.S. intelligence officials spoke of possibilities ranging from tenuous stability to civil war, and even some GOP senators have said there is a need for more candid talk from the White House.

[Skidmore]

1. If wishes were horses....

Allawi is over here hoping that * can reassure him, knowing full well that he is high on the list for some assassin because he is a stooge.

[Eye and Monkey]

2. Next trick, Allawi will be doing canned "Bush-style townhall meetings"

Like Trudeau says in Doonesbury - "ANOTHER great question!"

[pinniped]

3. Ya, I don't believe AWOL* for one millisecond but Allawi...

seems pretty convincing.:eyes:

Let freedom reign!

Two puppet assholes for 2004!

[Richardson08]

4. Who is Allawi?

A * administration,hand picked interim PM.Why would the American public trust or believe anything said by Allawi?We don't know Allawi.The * administration got us into this mess,they should be assuring us about Iraq and not their Iraqi puppet

[sidpleasant]

22. Who is Allawi? A prettied - up terrorist and CIA stooge

Allawi ran a CIA - funded group called the Iraqi National Accord that set off car bombs in Irag during the 1990s.

I saw Tom Brokaw's interview with Allawi this morning and hoped that he'd ask the goon how, given his own bloody history, he can claim any moral superiority to Al - Zarqawi. Iraqis blown up by Allawi's car bombs are just as dead and innocent as those blown up by insurgent car bombs today. Of course Brokaw asked puffball, non - confrontational questions.

[Dem2theMax]

5. Let's see.

I'm supposed to fall for a Rose Garden photo op and believe that everything is A-OK in Iraq, huh?

snip

'Bush has made clear that the importance of Allawi's visit lies largely in the opportunity for the Iraqi leader to reinforce for Americans the president's own confident assessment of Iraq.'

OR, I could go here: http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx
and find out the 'truth.' (shhhhhh, * doesn't want us talking about such things.)

Too bad someone else in the article sees it like we do --

snip

'Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, suggested that the administration should spend less time staging an attractive photo opportunity and more adopting a realistic view of the challenges ahead.'

Poor Anthony. He'll be looking for a new job by Friday. He dared to speak the truth.

It boggles my mind that * thinks we are THAT stupid.
(Those must be some POWERFUL drugs he's taking.) :evilgrin:

[leftchick]

6. I think * administration believes fully Half the US population IS

THAT stupid. My daily dose of c-span makes me feel that they are correct. This little dog and pony show like his UN "stump speech" is all for them.

[BootinUp]

7. The real trick

Allawi will speak as Bush drinks a glass of water.

[Eye and Monkey]

8. Psst - wanna know the secret? Bush will be sitting on Unca Dick's lap.

That give you any hints?

[Disturbed]

9. How many Americans know this?

The Hand-Over That Wasn't: Illegal Orders give the US a Lock on Iraq's Economy
by Antonia Juhasz

Officially, the U.S. occupation of Iraq ended on June 28, 2004. But in reality, the United States is still in charge: Not only do 138,000 troops remain to control the streets, but the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy.

These little noticed orders enacted by Bremer, the now-departed head of the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, go to the heart of Bush administration plans in Iraq. They lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people.

The Bremer orders control every aspect of Iraqi life - from the use of car horns to the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Order No. 39 alone does no less than "transition from a … centrally planned economy to a market economy" virtually overnight and by U.S. fiat.

Although many thought that the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, on his last day in Iraq Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi - a 30-year exile with close ties to the CIA and British intelligence.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0805-07.htm

*Most Iraqis know that the US Puppet Govt. is only there to have facad for the Colonization of Iraq.

[leftchick]

11. not many.....

and as you say most Iraqis do and that is why this plan of the idiots* in charge will fail as well.

[Dem2theMax]

12. I remember reading about that on the day of the, ahem, handover.

And since then, not a peep about it. My guess - the only people who DO know are regular readers of DU - and the * administration.

I've told my folks on more than one occasion, today as a matter of fact - and they look at me like I'm nuts. :crazy:
And they ARE voting for Kerry.

I swear, if you don't come to DU, you have NO clue as to what is going on 'out there.'

[DemonFighterLives]

10. Allawi can't even run his own boots

As we used to say in the military. From what I see the people hate him much as we dislike our fearless leader. Yeah the terrible twosome will be a force to reckon with.

[Richardson08]

13. Will Chalabi be making another Washington appearance?

[gratuitous]

24. Who? Chalabi? Whodat?

You remember, George: The guy who sat behind your wife at this year's state of the union address? Ahmad Chalabi? Thief, swindler, double agent, con man?

Not that Allawi's any better, but sheesh! You'd think the media outlets would evince a scintilla of curiosity from time to time. At least the pro wrestling referees make a show of looking to the crowd when they "suspect" one of the wrestlers might be cheating.

[teryang]

14. Unelected stooge "reassures" America?

Which one is it?

[ixion]

15. 'untrusted equally by all' is reassuring?

Seriously... the must think we're all idiots. :eyes:

[ElectroPrincess]

16. Sure, another arrogant, swaggering wanna be dictator ...

is just the ticket to reassure the American people. :P

[0007]

17. After Allawi's encore, the great John Negroponte, the Iran/Contra

convict will make an appearance and tell the planet how everything is going as planned, and the great progress he's made in Iraq.

I think Tony Blair's name has been scratched from the list as a guest speaker this time around. (BTW is Tony still in office?)

[LynnTheDem]

18. Oh suuuure...

Let's believe the former terrorist/thug who hadn't been in Iraq for 35 years until bush annointed and appointed him "big cheese" of Iraq, whom the Iraqis detest, over the FACTS and REALITY of Iraq such as MORE dead US troops, MORE wounded US troops, "SECOND WAR" going on according to the US Military, MORE violence and deteriorating security according to the Royal Institute, the CIA, and the Iraqis, MORE "coalition" nations pulling out due to increasing violence and deteriorating security...

No thanks. I prefer to believe REALITY even when it's an ugly thing.

[PA Democrat]

19. Allawi who personally executed 6 suspected insurgents?

Is this the guy who is supposed to "reassure voters" that Bush is a great leader? Yes, that photo of Bush holding hands with a murderer reassures me that they are 2 of a kind.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Iyad Allawi shot dead as many as six suspected insurgents last month, just days before Washington handed political control over to his new government.

Two separate witnesses said that the prisoners, blindfolded and handcuffed, were lined up against a wall in a courtyard next to a maximum security cell at al-Amariyah prison in Baghdad. Allawi then pulled out a pistol and shot them in the head, telling policemen that he was setting an example on how to deal with resistance fighters. Allawi is said to have told onlookers that the men “deserved worse than death”.

Some 30 witnesses are said to have been present in the compound when Allawi paid a surprise visit to the security facility to reassure police officers that they would be protected from reprisals if they killed insurgents in the course of their duty.

http://www.sundayherald.com/43458

[Zorra]

27. Yes, conscienceless hit men are generally very reassuring to the average

voter.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. So why is Allawi smiling?

Because he just gave W the old Arab FU, by giving him his left hand and W is too stupid to even know it.

[Roland99]

21. Yeah...a lap dog is going to influence voters?

Allawi is well-versed at spewing GOP talking points. I don't think those go over so well in Iraq, though.

[Wendigo]

23. Why no discussion about this past week's handshake

between Allawi and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom?

If there were a photo of that available anywhere, you can bet Allawi would be flying on banners all over Iraq.

[leftchick]

25. Ihadn't heard that interesting little tidbit......

do you have a link to an article about it?

[Wendigo]

29. Friends

What's in a handshake? Big news if it's ministers from Israel and Iraq

[Kierkegaard]

26. Title should be corrected to read:

"Bush Hopes Allawi Can Backup His Lies to Reassure U.S. Voters..."

[strizi64]

28. Do you remeber Afghanistan in the 80's and

the faith of "President" Najibullah? He was also installed by a foreign Government aka the Kremlin and didn't survive one month after the Russians pulled out after they recognized that there's no way to win a guerilla war, even without any respect to civilians..



I hate to say this, but if Shrub is re-elected I would advise to read some books and analyzes over the conflict in Afghanistan in the 80's. I see this as a "blueprint" for the future of Iraq. It's so sad, why didn't they learn from history... They will never ever establish a "democracy" in Iraq. Because they don't understand this culture. And if they do "partial elections", civil war is the next chapter, for sure. When I hear Allawi talking, it's tick-tack-tick-tack in my head. Dead man talking.

[hatrack]

30. You're not reassuring, Chimpy - so your puppet will be?

Give me a fucking break!

Next they'll wheel out Henry Kissinger who'll intone something about "Za soveruhn rights of ze Iraqi peepul."