TIME: How Much U.S. Help? (Iraq- CIA Election Fix!)

[leftchick]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041004-702122,00.html

<snip>
President Bush and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi insisted last week that Iraq would go ahead with elections scheduled for January, despite continuing violence. But U.S. officials tell TIME that the Bush team ran into trouble with another plan involving those elections — a secret "finding" written several months ago proposing a covert CIA operation to aid candidates favored by Washington. A source says the idea was to help such candidates — whose opponents might be receiving covert backing from other countries, like Iran — but not necessarily to go so far as to rig the elections. But lawmakers from both parties raised questions about the idea when it was sent to Capitol Hill. In particular, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi "came unglued" when she learned about what a source described as a plan for "the CIA to put an operation in place to affect the outcome of the elections." Pelosi had strong words with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in a phone call about the issue.

[izzie]

1. Allawi seems to be a joke on the Iraq blogs.

-------

[ClintonTyree]

2. If it's good enough for the U.S.

It damn well should be good enough for Iraq. We don't have free and honest elections here, why should Iraq be priveleged enough to have them?
It's the American way. We like our leaders to be liars and our elections to be fixed. God Bless 'Murka!!

[enough]

3. "but not NECESSARILY to go so far as to rig the elections"

Yep, sounds like business as usual for Bushco. Doing what they do best.

You don't necessarily have to rig it, if you can figure out a way to steal it.

[shockingelk]

4. Free elections!

Free for the CIA to rig that is.

[lostnfound]

5. "whose opponents might be receiving covert backing from other countries"

The NYT is so good at psy-ops they can do it in their sleep. The NYT should put it on its resume: "We can explain away your WORST transgressions in TEN words or LESS!!"

Is it true that Iran is giving covert backing to opponents? Who knows? Have we EVER seen the NYT explain away any other government's dishonest behavior (other than the closest of our allies) in this manner? Uhh, no...

[teryang]

6. The CIA could support a murdering quisling for office

...and bring him to the US to give speeches on democracy.

We could also bomb the shit of certain areas as in order to show, " 'overt programs to support the democratic electoral process,' as the U.S. does elsewhere in the world."

[Moderator]

7. Duplicate--locking

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