Allawi like Chalabi left Iraq in '71. How can he speak for average Iraqis?

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from Wikipedia:

Allawi was an active supporter of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party in its early days when it was still banned. In 1971 he moved to London in order to continue his medical education. Some have reported this as an exile, but some of Allawi's old counterparts have claimed that he continued to serve the Baath Party, and the Iraqi secret police, searching out enemies of the regime. During this time he was president of the Iraqi Student Union in Europe. Seymour Hersh quotes former CIA officer Vincent Cannistraro: "<...> Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London <...> he was a paid Mukhabarat agent for the Iraqis, and he was involved in dirty stuff." A Middle Eastern diplomat confirmed that Allawi was involved with a Mukhabarat "hit team" that killed Baath Party dissenters in Europe. However, he resigned from the Baath party for undisclosed reasons in 1975.

Allawi was recruited by the CIA in 1992 as a counterpoint to the more well-known CIA asset Ahmed Chalabi, and because of the INA's links in the Ba'athist establishment. According to former CIA officers, Allawi's INA organised terrorist attacks in Iraq between 1992 and 1995, allegedly including the bombing of a cinema and a school bus that killed school children. This campaign never posed a threat to Saddam Hussein's rule, but was designed to test INA's capability to effect regime change.

*Chalabi left earlier

[billybob537]

1. ONE WORD

PUPPET

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3. Right! Allawi Is Not Iraq's Representative, He's Installed!

[underpants]

2. He doesn't that's why they don't trust him

n/t

[dogtag]

4. It's more and more like Vietnam every day...

I remember when our hand selected Vietnamese leaders used to give press conferences and the words haven't changed very much. Deja vu all over again...

[cheshire]

5. Allawi has been promised $$$ I can assure you.

[elperromagico]

6. Because they showed up in his flat with AXES!!!

Duh!!! :eyes: