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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Local Scene Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 24, 2006 Iraq, the sequel (3rd in a 4-part series. Previous episode here ) Liars, cheats and thieves … oh my! From the RIGHT Side MIKE GREEN Welcome to another episode in the continuing saga of “Iraq, the sequel,” otherwise known as “why is the CIA running Iraq?” In last week’s episode, we reviewed one member of “The Family,” Ahmed Chalabi, whose name was mentioned several times on different days on the Diane Rehm Show, a popular national public radio program. Unfortunately, no one on the program mentioned Chalabi’s recent hostile takeover of Iraq’s Oil industry … but if you were reading this program guide, you were informed. One of Ms. Rehm’s guests last week did, however, state that the situation was “like a bad sequel to a bad movie called the war in Iraq.” I would like to thank Ms. Rehm and her guest, whose name I did not catch, for invoking the title of my four-part series on her show. Now on with our show … In this week’s focus behind the scenes on the lead actors in the series, “Iraq, the sequel,” we turn our attention to yet another member of “The Family.” He is the cousin of Deputy Prime Minister (and new oil king) Ahmed Chalabi. He is also related to Chalabi’s nephew, Ali Allawi, who is the Minister of Finance. This man was Iraq’s Interim Prime Minister before we turned that position over to another long-term CIA-funded individual early last year. Before I introduce this gentleman (for whom I use the term loosely), I would like to remind the audience that there are numerous reviews of “Iraq, the sequel” around the nation. On Jan. 23, Oprah Winfrey conducted her own analysis of the theatrics we’re witnessing in Iraq. Unfortunately, her panel was replete with actors who were or are currently involved in a variety of the scenes that have been produced for our entertainment and misdirection. Both former president Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, joined others such as media mogul Ted Turner and Queen Rania of Jordan for a fun-filled afternoon of “who can give the best sound bite.” I applaud Oprah for her focus on Iraq, but unfortunately the panel she assembled was tantamount to rounding up stray actors from behind the curtain of “Iraq, the sequel” and interviewing them on the roles they played in the original screenplay and stage productions. In our look behind the curtain of deceit, we discard the sound bites, challenge the status quo and examine the truth. Careful analysis and scrutiny of each real character and the various roles they’ve played, and those they portray now, will reveal to us the whole truth beyond the hype and propaganda. Rumors abound regarding the actor to which we now turn our attention. He was a high-ranking officer in Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party, heading the regional offices of the Ba’ath Party in the UK. He is a British-trained neurosurgeon and has at times acted as Saddam’s personal doctor, yet he is admired on both Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. He has been a favorite of the British secret service (MI6). He has been long-supported and funded by the CIA. In the aftermath of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, his was the only name provided by the Interim Governing Council (comprised of Ambassador Paul Bremer, presidential envoy Robert Blackwell and UN representative Lakhdar Brahimi). Brahimi objected to the name initially, but was “convinced” to get onboard the support bandwagon. When this man’s name was presented to the Iraqi Governing Council on May 28, 2004 by its acting president, Ghazi Yawar, he was elected Interim Prime Minister of Iraq in a unanimous decision. It was a joyous occasion. As Rajaa Habib Khuzai, a Shiite member of the council put it, “Nobody said anything. We just raised our hands.” Well, how much more joy could one have expected from council members that faced the decision to either vote for the CIA man or else? Today, we look at a man who received millions of taxpayer dollars from our congress, former president Clinton, and the current Bush administration as well. This actor defected from the Ba’ath Party in 1976 — and there is a harrowing tale from the Washington Post of his escape in 1978 from several of Saddam’s henchmen that broke into his London residence in the night and hacked him to near death with axes. He reportedly spent a year in the hospital recovering. How he escaped is unknown. He has reportedly participated in “terrorist” acts inside Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s reign (according to the New York Times, June 9, 2004), which included using car bombs, blowing up a crowded movie theater, exploding public transit buses, etc. Throughout much of the 90’s he was involved in various CIA-funded operations, including one in 1996 where his opposition group attempted a coup against Saddam but was penetrated by and failed … costing the loss of hundreds of lives. He was part of the infamous “Group of Four” that visited the White House in November 2004. That group was comprised of Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Jalal Talabani (current president of Iraq), leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Iran-based Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and last, but certainly not least … the Iraqi National Accord, led by the ruthless 59-year-old Ayad (also Iyad) Allawi. Ayad Allawi is a name we ought to remember. After all, he has the ear of both houses of congress. He is the man who convinced the president that Saddam had the capability of assembling a ready-to-use nuclear device in “45 minutes.” It was Allawi who asserted that Iraq was receiving nuclear “yellowcake” through Niger. Newsweek published a story that offered proof Allawi’s assertions were unfounded. It was Allawi who asserted that Iraq had direct ties to 9/11 and al-Qaeda through meetings with Mohammed Atta. However, the FBI produced meticulous documentation showing the movements of Atta across the U.S. at the very time Allawi asserts he was in meetings with Baghdad. Allawi asserted that Saddam had siphoned off $40 billion during his reign and had provided interrogators with the places where he had stashed his fortune and the names of those controlling the bank accounts. A subsequent search turned up nothing and an unnamed U.S. official discounted Allawi’s claim. So what’s the enigmatic Allawi up to nowadays? Just two months ago Allawi made yet another assertion. He claimed that the U.S. must not pull out of Iraq because the abuse today is “worse than under Saddam.” According to the November 27, 2005 London Observer: “People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse,” Ayad Allawi told The Observer. “We are hearing about secret police, secret bunkers where people are being interrogated,” he added. “A lot of Iraqis are being tortured or killed in the course of interrogations. We are even witnessing Sharia courts based on Islamic law that are trying people and executing them.” Well, Ayad Allawi really isn’t so mystifying as he purports to be. He is simply a mercenary for hire. He worked with Saddam. He worked with MI6. He worked with the CIA. And he has been rewarded for his service by being given the privilege of running Iraq during the interim time period up to the election of last year. During his time in charge, a newspaper in Australia reported that eyewitnesses told a reporter that Allawi had pulled a gun and executed six suspected insurgents held in an Iraqi jail just one week prior to the handover of power. Around the same time, Allawi’s Minister of Defense was warning people that he would be chopping off hands and heads. Today, Allawi is sending signals that support the president’s assertions that the U.S. must remain in Iraq. When president Bush asks the nation to trust him, we should ask ourselves, “If Bush is relying on a man like Allawi for information — a man whom no Iraqi trusts — why should we trust that our president is doing the right thing?” The American people consider themselves moral, righteous, just, and a host of other really nice things. So how do we reconcile that thus far our involvement in the Middle East has been through relationships with people like: — The Shah of Iran (who human rights organizations listed as one of the worst offenders of human rights during his reign), — Saddam Hussein (whose reign includes such notable activities as gassing the Kurds and Iranians with chemical WMDs, mass torture and murder, rape and a host of other abuses) — Ahmed Chalabi (a wanted man who has been sentenced to 22 years in prison, involved in numerous “terrorist” acts against the people of Iraq, involved in failed coup attempts, involved in misappropriating millions of American taxpayer dollars, and the list goes on) — Ayad Allawi (a known liar for sale who was a Saddam loyalist, served MI6, served the CIA and has been involved in a number of coup attempts, “terrorist” activities and ruthless murders) How does it make us feel as we wave the American flag while wearing “I support the troops” stickers when we discover that our government has hooked up with brutal leaders, known thieves, liars and cheats … and regurgitated the information gleaned from such sources as the basis upon which our troops ought to go and sacrifice their lives? There is truth behind the façade we’re watching. But in order to come to know the real story, we must come to know the real people portraying the roles of leaders. The very same tactics being used to defend Iraq today were used by the Muslim Brotherhood to defend Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden was a wealthy young man who left his life of luxury to fight side-by-side with the mujahideen (holy warriors) in the caves of Afghanistan for ten years against the Soviet invasion. He isn’t popular in the Muslim world solely for his stand against America’s invasion of the Middle East. He is popular for his willingness to forego a life of luxury to spend his life fighting against those who invade Muslim lands. His fight against the U.S. government began in 1991 when we sent 500,000 troops into his homeland and the headquarters of all Islam ... Saudi Arabia. Contrary to the popular belief of the American public, we did not initially invade Iraq in 2003. We actually invaded Iraq in 1991, based on a decision made on October 30, 1990 by then-president George H. Bush. We sent more than a half-million troops into Saudi Arabia, the home of Mecca and Medina, and used that holy land as a base of operations for invading Iraq, a country we have never left. We completed the invasion in 2003. That is why I call it “Iraq, the sequel.” In short, we have occupied Iraq for 15 years. On 9/11, the American public’s attention was turned toward the Middle East. Prior to that, all of the names that we hear today were participating in an all-out war that remained hidden from the public. Iraq was under siege long before the second invasion. Covert operations were being launched and thwarted by Saddam Hussein continually. Long before there was talk of WMDs, Iraq being a threat to its neighbors, etc … America was at war with Saddam. But there had to be an excuse to risk American lives well into the foreseeable future … a political reason that would galvanize the support of the American public. Enter from stage left and right, Ahmed Chalabi and Ayad Allawi … the feuding cousins. They don’t like each other. But they both hate Saddam even more. What a coincidence! We didn’t like Saddam either. And we hadn’t liked him for far longer than the American people realize, for reasons not readily apparent. Keep in mind that we supported him through all of the notorious and brutal actions he is charged with at trial. Our reasons for turning on Saddam had little to do with Saddam. And our turning on him took place soon after courting him to do our bidding in invading Iran in 1980. But Saddam is under wraps today. Let’s see who has taken his place. Next week, we will meet a man who has been aligned with our CIA for more than a decade. He, like Chalabi and Allawi, was rewarded in the aftermath of the overthrow of Saddam. His name is Jalal Talabani. He is the first Kurd to assume a position of leadership in the government of Iraq. He is president. It is important to understand who the Kurds are and what their control of Iraq means to everyone involved. Next week we will wrap up this four-part series with a futuristic look at the plan of the United States in Iraq. After we have strategically placed CIA men in charge of the leadership, the defense, the finance, and of course, the oil … what next? Could it be … Iran? Stay tuned. AVAILABLE NOW at all major bookstores, and online at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and Borders.com. Click the cover for a 37% discount. To respond to this column send email to [email protected] . Only those responses containing the writer's name, city and phone number (for verification purposes only) will appear on our site. Mike Green is an award-winning columnist and author of, " The WHOLE truth about the U.S. War on Terror: answers to every question you never knew to ask ." ( www.thetruthaboutterror.com ) From the RIGHT Side is a web-only column published by the Daily Tidings. Letters to the Editor and Guest Forums should be e-mailed in text-only format to [email protected]. Please include your address and a daytime phone number where you can be reached for confirmation. Submissions cannot have run in any other publication. Letters are limited to 250 words, Guest Forums are limited to 600 words, and may be edited for length, content and clarity. 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