Zeppistan
02-06-2004, 17:11
You know: Independent to do whatever the US asks of them! And it's not like they don't know who they are dealing with.
"But hey!" you say. "They were picked by the CPA! See? by Iraqis! How much more independant can you get than that?"
Which is to say that they were "independently" chosen by that "independent" group of long-time friends, allies, and CIA funded talking heads appointed by Shrub that were originally parachuted into power..
But hey.... let's holster that sarcasm for a sec Zep... give it a look and see. Maybe it's not that bad...
The new Iraqi President? Well - who cares really. It's a titular position. Pick a squeeky wheel to distract the world with rhetoric.
The vice presidents?
One of them is another of the London league of ex-pats who fed intel to Washington and has lengthy ties to Iran.
The other is leader of one of the two main Kurdish parties (KDP) who rejected the interim Constitution unless the Kurds kept military control of their area, and who's group aligned itself with Saddam's Republican Guard in the 90's helping the Guard to attack the other main Kurdish group (PUK) as well as Iraqi National Congress strongholds in the Kurdish region in order to solidify their own position. Clearly a man of integrity and loyalty.
Hmmm. Not looking great to start. Let's go up a notch. Because in reality under the current circumstances there are really two key positions: The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. Running the country, and dealing with security.
The new Minister of Defense?
A relative and compatriot in exile of that disgraced fraud artist, purveyor of false intel, CIA confidant, receiver of millions from US funds to provide the aforementioned false intel, and possible Iranian double agent - Chalabi.
The President?
A relative and compatriot in exile of that disgraced fraud artist, purveyor of false intel, CIA confidant, receiver of millions from US funds to provide the aforementioned false intel, and possible Iranian double agent - Chalabi. Noticing a trend? And yes - that also makes him a relative of the Minister of Defense. That always adds a nice aroma to the concept of independent viewpoints in council doesn't it?
The President also has firm ties in his own right to the CIA dating back to the 80's, received his own share of slush funding from them for decades, and who's complete misreading of the Iraqi situation lead to a spectacular failure of a coup attempt in '96. He has also been rumored to have been the one who told that tall tale to the Brits that Saddam had a WMD arsenal that could deploy weapons to attack foreign targets within 45 minutes.
And there you have it.
Is that leadership "independent" enough for you?
Of course, Powell was the first to say "If the new leaders ask us to... we WILL leave".
But then again, it's easy to make that claim when you make one of your own employees the new leader. You might just have a pretty good idea about what he's going to ask of you....
So I guess they can keep on building that "biggest US embassy in the world" in Baghdad. I mean - it's understandable. Iraq IS the most important country in the world and so worthy of that level of diplomacy....much more needful than Moscow ever was... and GW only plans to stay there a little while, so they need lots of people just to be sure that everything works out according to plan .... just don't look to closely at those dozen "Enduring" (read as 'permanent") military bases they are constructing in the dessert... it's just that the Army Corps of Engineers don't know how to make a temporary base. The army WILL be leaving.......eventually.
So....How does Jan 17, 2050 grab you as a nice day to pull the troops out? You book the van, I'll order the pizza....
"But hey!" you say. "They were picked by the CPA! See? by Iraqis! How much more independant can you get than that?"
Which is to say that they were "independently" chosen by that "independent" group of long-time friends, allies, and CIA funded talking heads appointed by Shrub that were originally parachuted into power..
But hey.... let's holster that sarcasm for a sec Zep... give it a look and see. Maybe it's not that bad...
The new Iraqi President? Well - who cares really. It's a titular position. Pick a squeeky wheel to distract the world with rhetoric.
The vice presidents?
One of them is another of the London league of ex-pats who fed intel to Washington and has lengthy ties to Iran.
The other is leader of one of the two main Kurdish parties (KDP) who rejected the interim Constitution unless the Kurds kept military control of their area, and who's group aligned itself with Saddam's Republican Guard in the 90's helping the Guard to attack the other main Kurdish group (PUK) as well as Iraqi National Congress strongholds in the Kurdish region in order to solidify their own position. Clearly a man of integrity and loyalty.
Hmmm. Not looking great to start. Let's go up a notch. Because in reality under the current circumstances there are really two key positions: The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense. Running the country, and dealing with security.
The new Minister of Defense?
A relative and compatriot in exile of that disgraced fraud artist, purveyor of false intel, CIA confidant, receiver of millions from US funds to provide the aforementioned false intel, and possible Iranian double agent - Chalabi.
The President?
A relative and compatriot in exile of that disgraced fraud artist, purveyor of false intel, CIA confidant, receiver of millions from US funds to provide the aforementioned false intel, and possible Iranian double agent - Chalabi. Noticing a trend? And yes - that also makes him a relative of the Minister of Defense. That always adds a nice aroma to the concept of independent viewpoints in council doesn't it?
The President also has firm ties in his own right to the CIA dating back to the 80's, received his own share of slush funding from them for decades, and who's complete misreading of the Iraqi situation lead to a spectacular failure of a coup attempt in '96. He has also been rumored to have been the one who told that tall tale to the Brits that Saddam had a WMD arsenal that could deploy weapons to attack foreign targets within 45 minutes.
And there you have it.
Is that leadership "independent" enough for you?
Of course, Powell was the first to say "If the new leaders ask us to... we WILL leave".
But then again, it's easy to make that claim when you make one of your own employees the new leader. You might just have a pretty good idea about what he's going to ask of you....
So I guess they can keep on building that "biggest US embassy in the world" in Baghdad. I mean - it's understandable. Iraq IS the most important country in the world and so worthy of that level of diplomacy....much more needful than Moscow ever was... and GW only plans to stay there a little while, so they need lots of people just to be sure that everything works out according to plan .... just don't look to closely at those dozen "Enduring" (read as 'permanent") military bases they are constructing in the dessert... it's just that the Army Corps of Engineers don't know how to make a temporary base. The army WILL be leaving.......eventually.
So....How does Jan 17, 2050 grab you as a nice day to pull the troops out? You book the van, I'll order the pizza....