i am shocked...ok...i'm so not..but it would have been nice..

[Guest guest]

Bush Offers Crooks And Warmongers To Lead Iraq

Molly Ivins

Creators Syndicate

 

Wednesday 9 April 2003

 

AUSTIN, Texas — Oh good. It looks as though we're going to have as big a fight over postwar plans for Iraq as we did over the war itself. Just what we need, more of everybody being at everybody else's throat.

 

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems prepared to run the world, favors one Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile-emigre group, as postwar leader (read figurehead-puppet). Chalabi is bitterly opposed by both the State Department and the CIA.

 

According to Knight-Ridder's Jonathan Landay, American military planes flew Chalabi and 700 troops, the newly named "First Battalion of Free Iraqi Forces," into Nasiriyah Sunday to be integrated into Gen. Tommy Franks' command. Landay reports, "Senior administration officials said that Chalabi had had difficulty recruiting enough forces to go into southern Iraq and may have tapped the discredited Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group, to get his 700 soldiers." Think how happy the Iraqis will be to see some detachment from their old enemy Iran.

 

Landay also reports, "It was information provided by Chalabi that led Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to a prewar belief that Iraqis would rise up and welcome the invading coalition with open arms, that the Republican Guard would surrender in droves and the government of Saddam Hussein would crumble in a matter of days."

 

One hesitates to make sweeping generalizations, but anyone who has studied the history of emigre groups knows the endless infighting and delusional quality of the emigre culture. (See if you can think of an example.)

 

This gets better. Chalabi has been in exile for four decades and, in 1992, he was convicted on multiple counts of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Jordan after the failure of his bank there. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He escaped from Jordan, reportedly in the trunk of a car, and wound up in London. Dick Cheney is also a Chalabi fan.

 

The Iraqi National Congress has received millions in American aid money, but the accounting has been very poor (a familiar story) and quite a bit of the money is unaccounted for. Chalabi favors Savile Row suits.

 

The Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz choice for "viceroy designate" of Iraq is Gen. Jay Garner, head of the Pentagon's Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Garner is a retired military man with links to both the international arms industry and a Jewish lobby group. After retiring from the Army, Garner became president of SY Coleman, a defense contractor specializing in military defense technology. He is currently on leave of absence from the company.

 

The problem of Garner's alleged Zionist sympathies is also causing talk: He visited Israel as the guest of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and signed a statement in October 2000 blaming the Palestinian Authority for the violence after the collapse of peace talks and praising the "remarkable restraint" of the Israeli army.

 

The third member of the triumvirate that Rumsfeld & Co. want to run Iraq is former CIA chief James Woolsey, who said last week that Iraq is the opening of the "Fourth World War" (counting the Cold War as III) and that America's enemies include the religious rulers in Iran, states like Syria and Islamic terrorist groups.

 

So, we've got a crook, a Zionist and an old spy who thinks this is the beginning of WWIV set to run Iraq. How lucky can the Iraqis get? Is this what we thought we were fighting for?

 

According to David Sanger's analysis in The New York Times, "Some hawks in the administration are convinced that Iraq will serve as a cautionary example of what can happen to other sates that refuse to abandon their programs to build weapons of mass destruction, an argument that John Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control, has made several times in recent speeches."

 

The administration's more pragmatic wing fears that the war's lesson will be just the opposite: that the best way to avoid American military action is to build a fearsome arsenal quickly and make the cost of conflict too high for Washington.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... Sen. Ted Stevens suggested last week that New York City's cops and firefighters should work overtime without pay as a wartime sacrifice. "I really feel strongly that we ought to find some way to convince the people that there ought to be some volunteerism at home. Those people overseas in the desert — they're not getting overtime. ... I don't know why the people working for the cities and counties ought to be paid overtime when they're responding to matters of national security."

 

Stevens, R-Alaska, had just voted for tax cuts that will give those who make a million dollars a year $92,000 more to spend on polo ponies. Some must sacrifice more than others.

[Guest guest]

as Leona Helmsley once said, " Only the little people pay taxes. " Now the

regressive Republicans are saying, " only the little people make sacrifices. "

 

Danielle

 

 

 

" You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake " --Jeanette Rankin

 

 

 

 

 

----Original Message Follows----

EBbrewpunx

 

carnahan02, bevanmetro,

snappythealligator, TFHB ,

,

northern_california_punklist , michele

i am shocked...ok...i'm so not..but it would have been

nice..

Fri, 11 Apr 2003 10:52:12 EDT

 

 

> Bush Offers Crooks And Warmongers To Lead Iraq

> Molly Ivins

> Creators Syndicate

>

> Wednesday 9 April 2003

>

> AUSTIN, Texas — Oh good. It looks as though we're going to have as big

a

> fight over postwar plans for Iraq as we did over the war itself. Just

what

> we need, more of everybody being at everybody else's throat.

>

> Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems prepared to run the world,

> favors one Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile-emigre

> group, as postwar leader (read figurehead-puppet). Chalabi is bitterly

> opposed by both the State Department and the CIA.

>

> According to Knight-Ridder's Jonathan Landay, American military planes

flew

> Chalabi and 700 troops, the newly named " First Battalion of Free Iraqi

> Forces, " into Nasiriyah Sunday to be integrated into Gen. Tommy Franks'

> command. Landay reports, " Senior administration officials said that

Chalabi

> had had difficulty recruiting enough forces to go into southern Iraq and

> may have tapped the discredited Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed Shiite

> Muslim group, to get his 700 soldiers. " Think how happy the Iraqis will

be

> to see some detachment from their old enemy Iran.

>

> Landay also reports, " It was information provided by Chalabi that led

> Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to a prewar belief that Iraqis would rise up and

> welcome the invading coalition with open arms, that the Republican Guard

> would surrender in droves and the government of Saddam Hussein would

> crumble in a matter of days. "

>

> One hesitates to make sweeping generalizations, but anyone who has

studied

> the history of emigre groups knows the endless infighting and delusional

> quality of the emigre culture. (See if you can think of an example.)

>

> This gets better. Chalabi has been in exile for four decades and, in

1992,

> he was convicted on multiple counts of embezzlement of hundreds of

millions

> of dollars in Jordan after the failure of his bank there. He was

sentenced

> to 22 years in prison. He escaped from Jordan, reportedly in the trunk of

a

> car, and wound up in London. Dick Cheney is also a Chalabi fan.

>

> The Iraqi National Congress has received millions in American aid money,

> but the accounting has been very poor (a familiar story) and quite a bit

of

> the money is unaccounted for. Chalabi favors Savile Row suits.

>

> The Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz choice for " viceroy designate " of Iraq is Gen. Jay

> Garner, head of the Pentagon's Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian

> Assistance. Garner is a retired military man with links to both the

> international arms industry and a Jewish lobby group. After retiring from

> the Army, Garner became president of SY Coleman, a defense contractor

> specializing in military defense technology. He is currently on leave of

> absence from the company.

>

> The problem of Garner's alleged Zionist sympathies is also causing talk:

He

> visited Israel as the guest of the Jewish Institute for National Security

> Affairs and signed a statement in October 2000 blaming the Palestinian

> Authority for the violence after the collapse of peace talks and praising

> the " remarkable restraint " of the Israeli army.

>

> The third member of the triumvirate that Rumsfeld & Co. want to run Iraq

is

> former CIA chief James Woolsey, who said last week that Iraq is the

opening

> of the " Fourth World War " (counting the Cold War as III) and that

America's

> enemies include the religious rulers in Iran, states like Syria and

Islamic

> terrorist groups.

>

> So, we've got a crook, a Zionist and an old spy who thinks this is the

> beginning of WWIV set to run Iraq. How lucky can the Iraqis get? Is this

> what we thought we were fighting for?

>

> According to David Sanger's analysis in The New York Times, " Some hawks

in

> the administration are convinced that Iraq will serve as a cautionary

> example of what can happen to other sates that refuse to abandon their

> programs to build weapons of mass destruction, an argument that John

> Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control, has made several

> times in recent speeches. "

>

> The administration's more pragmatic wing fears that the war's lesson will

> be just the opposite: that the best way to avoid American military action

> is to build a fearsome arsenal quickly and make the cost of conflict too

> high for Washington.

>

> Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... Sen. Ted Stevens suggested last week

that

> New York City's cops and firefighters should work overtime without pay as

a

> wartime sacrifice. " I really feel strongly that we ought to find some way

> to convince the people that there ought to be some volunteerism at home.

> Those people overseas in the desert — they're not getting overtime. ...

I

> don't know why the people working for the cities and counties ought to be

> paid overtime when they're responding to matters of national security. "

>

> Stevens, R-Alaska, had just voted for tax cuts that will give those who

> make a million dollars a year $92,000 more to spend on polo ponies. Some

> must sacrifice more than others.

>

>

 

 

_______________

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[Guest guest]



Hi Fraggle

 

Funny nobody thought how the country was to be run after we had invaded it - maybe they didn't expect too many people left to 'rule'. Now they are asking the Ba'ath party policemen back to stop the rioting!

 

Jo

 

-

EBbrewpunx

carnahan02 ; bevanmetro ; snappythealligator ; TFHB ; ; northern_california_punklist ; michele

Friday, April 11, 2003 3:52 PM

i am shocked...ok...i'm so not..but it would have been nice..

 

Bush Offers Crooks And Warmongers To Lead IraqMolly IvinsCreators SyndicateWednesday 9 April 2003AUSTIN, Texas — Oh good. It looks as though we're going to have as big a fight over postwar plans for Iraq as we did over the war itself. Just what we need, more of everybody being at everybody else's throat. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who seems prepared to run the world, favors one Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile-emigre group, as postwar leader (read figurehead-puppet). Chalabi is bitterly opposed by both the State Department and the CIA. According to Knight-Ridder's Jonathan Landay, American military planes flew Chalabi and 700 troops, the newly named "First Battalion of Free Iraqi Forces," into Nasiriyah Sunday to be integrated into Gen. Tommy Franks' command. Landay reports, "Senior administration officials said that Chalabi had had difficulty recruiting enough forces to go into southern Iraq and may have tapped the discredited Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group, to get his 700 soldiers." Think how happy the Iraqis will be to see some detachment from their old enemy Iran. Landay also reports, "It was information provided by Chalabi that led Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to a prewar belief that Iraqis would rise up and welcome the invading coalition with open arms, that the Republican Guard would surrender in droves and the government of Saddam Hussein would crumble in a matter of days." One hesitates to make sweeping generalizations, but anyone who has studied the history of emigre groups knows the endless infighting and delusional quality of the emigre culture. (See if you can think of an example.) This gets better. Chalabi has been in exile for four decades and, in 1992, he was convicted on multiple counts of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Jordan after the failure of his bank there. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He escaped from Jordan, reportedly in the trunk of a car, and wound up in London. Dick Cheney is also a Chalabi fan. The Iraqi National Congress has received millions in American aid money, but the accounting has been very poor (a familiar story) and quite a bit of the money is unaccounted for. Chalabi favors Savile Row suits. The Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz choice for "viceroy designate" of Iraq is Gen. Jay Garner, head of the Pentagon's Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Garner is a retired military man with links to both the international arms industry and a Jewish lobby group. After retiring from the Army, Garner became president of SY Coleman, a defense contractor specializing in military defense technology. He is currently on leave of absence from the company. The problem of Garner's alleged Zionist sympathies is also causing talk: He visited Israel as the guest of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and signed a statement in October 2000 blaming the Palestinian Authority for the violence after the collapse of peace talks and praising the "remarkable restraint" of the Israeli army. The third member of the triumvirate that Rumsfeld & Co. want to run Iraq is former CIA chief James Woolsey, who said last week that Iraq is the opening of the "Fourth World War" (counting the Cold War as III) and that America's enemies include the religious rulers in Iran, states like Syria and Islamic terrorist groups. So, we've got a crook, a Zionist and an old spy who thinks this is the beginning of WWIV set to run Iraq. How lucky can the Iraqis get? Is this what we thought we were fighting for? According to David Sanger's analysis in The New York Times, "Some hawks in the administration are convinced that Iraq will serve as a cautionary example of what can happen to other sates that refuse to abandon their programs to build weapons of mass destruction, an argument that John Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control, has made several times in recent speeches." The administration's more pragmatic wing fears that the war's lesson will be just the opposite: that the best way to avoid American military action is to build a fearsome arsenal quickly and make the cost of conflict too high for Washington. Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... Sen. Ted Stevens suggested last week that New York City's cops and firefighters should work overtime without pay as a wartime sacrifice. "I really feel strongly that we ought to find some way to convince the people that there ought to be some volunteerism at home. Those people overseas in the desert — they're not getting overtime. ... I don't know why the people working for the cities and counties ought to be paid overtime when they're responding to matters of national security." Stevens, R-Alaska, had just voted for tax cuts that will give those who make a million dollars a year $92,000 more to spend on polo ponies. Some must sacrifice more than others.

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