Thursday, May 20, 2004

Posted here Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 7:12:55 PM     Need to raise the possibility that the Chalabi raid was to get the security files he took from the Iraq security ministry at the beginning of the occupation. Those files contain lots of blackmail possibility, and that may include Americans. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 6:39:02 PM     So what is the chance that Saddham will be handed over to the "Iraqis" who will then find a way to set him "free"? Bush is going to (still a surmise) get out in the next weeks, and chaos will increase. in the melee.... ********

Posted here Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 12:22:43 PM     Bush visits the hill Republicans. It had been said that he would take questions and stay an hour. He stayed 45 minutes and took no questions. But In a 45-minute pep rally in a basement conference room under the West Front of the Capitol, Mr. Bush told more than 200 House and Senate Republicans that the United States was firmly committed to transferring power to the Iraqis on June 30 and insisted that the temporary government would not be under American control. Specifically, Mr. Bush told the group, according to House and Senate members in the meeting, that the new American ambassador to Iraq, John D. Negroponte, would not be a de-facto successor to L. Paul Bremer III, the top American civilian administrator in Iraq who is to step down from his duties on July 1. Mr. Bush took no questions from the lawmakers, and left without speaking to reporters roped off in a corner of the Capitol's basement. The assurances offered by Mr. Bush come at a time when Europeans and Iraqis remain skeptical of American intentions and are questioning whether the sovereignty conferred on the country will bring about a dramatic change in the status quo. "He said, you know, that John Negroponte is not replacing Jerry Bremer," Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, told reporters after the session. "What's replacing Jerry Bremer is a sovereign Iraqi government. And Negroponte will be there as an ambassador; he's not calling the shots anymore." this is the strategy - get out. He can argue that "we liberated Iraq and now the Iraqis must show their true spirit. We did our part. "You can lead a horse to ...."" His metaphor was better, [update 8:30pm, i was insensitive to the implications of this for Iraqis, who had a national assembly and a political culture before Saddham. ] Representative Deborah Pryce, Republican of Ohio, told reporters that the president told the group that for Iraqis it was "time to take the training wheels off" and that they need "to take the bike and go forward." This probably helps explain the Chalabi raid this morning: dis-empower the most obvious new dictator. But the story might be more complex, and some have speculated that being disowned by the US makes him more palatable in Iraq. I doubt it but.. ********

Posted here Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 8:32:33 AM     www.counterpunch.org has a long detailed article on Chalabi. ********