Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Posted here Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 8:25:18 PM     Juan Cole on the situation between the US and Najaf. http://www.juancole.com/2004_04_01_juancole_archive.html#108188631557107161  The report about Sistani's strongly-worded message to the US warning them against attacking Najaf is now available in English. I haven't seen an Arabic text. Some 2500 US troops surround Najaf, and Muqtada al-Sadr says he is willing to sacrifice himself for Iraq. CNN says that those clerics negotiating with Sadr have warned the US not to come into Najaf, and have darkly intimated that the ones who caused the crisis "must pay." It is not clear if they mean the Army of the Mahdi or Paul Bremer, or both. I put that first because it is so different from Bush's conference, with its bullheaded determination to be god's fist in an unwilling world. Bush, by being loser than normal (some think signs of drink or sedatives), actually revealed more of what and how he thinks, and for those who feels secure with him, he seemed determined and strong. "It is better to fight them over the than over here," said a few of the callers on c-span after the conference. One thing, with the 9/11 hearings and the conference tonight, we are seeing more about this government than usual, and just imagine if we had this kind of "dialog" every week, with the development of everyone's understanding that would follow. It might be a great place to live.   ********

Posted here Tuesday, April 13, 2004 at 11:21:04 AM     On Chilabi, by Arnaud de Borchgrave http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20040401-090721-7961r  If Mr. Chalabi's fast track to power is not derailed and he becomes prime minister in July, the president won't be able to fire him unless his two deputies agree.     The provisional constitution seems tailor-made for Mr. Chalabi to call the shots into 2005. As head of the Governing Council's economic and finance committee, Mr. Chalabi already has maneuvered loyalists into key Cabinet positions in the provisional authority -- finance, oil and trade. The Central Bank governor, the head of the trade bank and the managing director of the largest commercial bank also owe their positions to Mr. Chalabi's influence.     While in London exile, he cultivated close contacts with Israeli officials. He has also visited Iran a number of times to confer with leading ayatollahs in a bid for their support. He was given permission to open an INC office in Tehran. His strongest backers in the U.S. are Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and neo-conservative theoretician ("An End to Evil") Richard Perle.     All the bases are loaded for a home run by MVP Chalabi. If successful, it will be an additional campaign issue President Bush could have done without.     Good riddance to sick sadist Saddam. But was Mr. Chalabi a worthy democratic trade? And how will voters react when they become convinced the U.S. taxpayers funded Mr. Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress to train defectors on how best to convince the Bush administration that Iraq was a clear and present danger? Two hundred billion dollars later, the mind reels.       ********