Posted on 12/18/2008 4:11:57 AM PST by Joiseydude
Up to 35 officials in the Iraqi Ministry, some ranking as high as general, have been arrested in an alleged secret scheme to reinstate Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, the New York Times reported Thursday.
The raids took place over the past three days and were carried out by an elite counterterrorism force that reports directly to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the report said.
The arrests included four generals, one of whom, Gen. Ahmed Abu Raqeef, is the ministry’s director of internal affairs.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I have a feeling Iraq will be dealing with things like this for a while yet.
I can almost hear the disappoinment at the NY Times.
So, maybe THAT’S why that guy was bold enough to throw his shoes. He thought “his” people were going to be back in charge in a few days.
I think it might be worth questioning him a bit more/vigorously regarding what HE knows about this plot.
Sounds like they already did. All it took were a few broken bones to make ol’ fat boy shoe thrower sing!
such ingrates
they should be kissing Bush’s feet
Wonder if Rezko’s financiers were behind this since they have been pulling Obama’s strings for years.
Pray for W America and Our Troops
“I have a feeling Iraq will be dealing with things like this for a while yet.”
Yeah, just as long as they remain Muslim. A long long long while.
LOL, rights? You are confusing Iraq with the US. Arab Muslims do things differently. Human rights and freedom are foreign concepts to the Muslim mind. Worrying about protecting something they never had, and most don't want, is silly.
Generals of traffic police???
Don’t buy into the myth that people don’t want freedom in Iraq. 90% of the people...the people that we never hear or read about....are desperate for a modern government and a country where they have a chance to make something of their lives.
Your version of reality comes from Iran (via Al Jazeera News) and the ‘Out-of-power-thugs’ (still with influence and weapons) desperate to regain their ill-gotten gains.
If the Iraqi’s didn’t want democracy then they wouldn’t have voted in large numbers back in 2005. If they don’t want democracy they won’t show up to vote this January. If they don’t want democracy they participate in this June’s national referendum on the SOFA. My guess is that the iraqi’s will not only vote...they will vote in very very high numbers.
Don’t buy into the enemies rhetoric. They are working you like a farmer works a mule....convincing you to abandon your principals in some weird notion that oppression is the ‘culture’ of Iraq.
No one likes tyrants and dictators.......and that includes the good people of Iraq!
How did ‘human rights’ get to be such a controversial goal in your brain. Seriosuly, to somewhat quote Pink Floyd....they got you to trade your hero’s for jokers, didn’t they?
If this were true then they would have a modern government and peace and stability. Indeed they would have had it long before and Saddam would have never come to power in the first place. People who long for freedom do not support murderous dictators.
“If the Iraqi’s didn’t want democracy then they wouldn’t have voted in large numbers back in 2005. If they don’t want democracy they won’t show up to vote this January. If they don’t want democracy they participate in this June’s national referendum on the SOFA. My guess is that the iraqi’s will not only vote...they will vote in very very high numbers.”
Of course they will, but not in support of democracy or freedom. They will vote in a desperate attempt to install their local Imam or militia leader in a position of power. The vote lasts exactly as long as the US troops remain to maintain some semblance of security. As soon as we leave democracy flows down the drain in a bloody civil war.
“Don’t buy into the enemies rhetoric. They are working you like a farmer works a mule....convincing you to abandon your principals in some weird notion that oppression is the ‘culture’ of Iraq.”
The enemies rhetoric? You mean like CAIR who would have us believe that Muslims are all peaceful freedom loving sensitive souls who are being unjustly oppressed by Jews and US imperialism? It sounds to me like it is you who are being worked like a mule by the enemies rhetoric.
“No one likes tyrants and dictators.......and that includes the good people of Iraq!”
Then why do tyrants have so many supporters all over the world? Russians love Putin. Chinese still revere Mao. Muslims and Socialists all over the world have tyrants and dictators as their leaders. Sure, some of them don't love their leaders, but that is only because their clan, sect, or political party happens to be out of power at the moment. If "their" tyrant or dictator was in power they would love him just as the Baathest’s loved Saddam.
“How did ‘human rights’ get to be such a controversial goal in your brain.”
I am all for human rights. However, I recognize that there are many different cultures existent in the world. Treating them all as if they were identical is absurd. Believe it or not, freedom and human rights are not only poorly understood concepts in some cultures, but are actually dangerous for tribal cultures which require absolute obedience to a single leader in order to be successful.
Tribal cultures work like dog packs. There is an alpha male and everyone else submits completely. As long as the leader is in control there is peace and harmony in the pack. Give rights and freedom to individual dogs within a pack and you have chaos. The complete breakdown of a culture. This is what will happen in Iraq once US troops leave. Their culture doesn't have the institutions, temperament, or civic instincts that it has taken hundreds of years for the western world to formulate.
Most of the data is inaccurate.
1. The number is 24 arrests.
2. The boss of MoI Internal Affairs was directing the arrests, not being arrested.
3. The majority of the arrest were Traffic Police.
What it looks like is they just arrested a group of traffic police that were selling their police equippment to the highest bidder.
And, since MoI’s ERB got involved, some of that equipment probably was traced after it was recovered from raids on AQI and/or JAM...
You have to pay attention to what is confirmed and what is just “reported”. Lot of fiction out there...
A story can change greatly in 12 hours.
Dude.....you are mistaking ‘oppression’ for culture. The Iraqi’s are no more prone to ‘Run Like Packs of Dogs’ than the Germans were in the 20’s and 30’s. When evil people get their grip on power, the whole flippin’ country gets screwed up. Have you ever worked at a company that was all screwed up because one aXX-h*le got in charge (Think Oakland Raiders)? Anyway, that’s Iraq. Flippin Saddam Hussein gets in charge and everyone suffers.
I do agree that initial elections will propeel certain ‘Tribal Leaders’ to power and as a result, violent tensions will exist. But, as time evolves, these tensions will give way as elected leaders will begin to learn that if they don’t deliver, they will be thrown out. The common man cares much less about triabl feuds and much more about food and shelter.
In any case, this as all just talk. If I am correct, we will have a stable democracy in Iraq that gets stonger with each passing year (and to be fair to my position, this has been occurring over the last couple of years). If you are right, it will deteriorate into chaos and tyrrany as time passes (which may happen as the draw down continues).
Don’t you find it the least bit strange that, when you find yourself alone with your thoughts, you actually believe almosyt 40% of the world (Muslims) are too stupid to get along with each other in a manner conisistent with basic human rights? Geez, that’s a lot of arrogance. What other racists beliefs do you have? Hey, are you one of those man-made Global Warming guys too? It takes a lot of self importance and arrogance to believe that srtuff, too.
Talk about arrogance. Come down off your high horse much? I only know what I observe. I have observed that many Muslims don't get along with each other or anyone else and that this holds true in most of the world. I don't think it is due to stupidity, but due to culture. I wish you were right in your praise of Muslims, because I don't want to hate them as people, but you aren't. Doesn't it feel strange to you to be defending the worlds greatest terrorists, and killers of innocents?
Do you have any info on this?
Glad you had a safe trip.
Look, to label all Muslims as terrorist is a stretch. I grant you that 95% of terrorism is Muslim based. But, heck, you can’t just put that on an entire culture anymore than you can put the Nazi movement on all Germans. Things are just out of hand in Muslim countries nowadays.
At one time, Muslims considered democracy. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s (when the modern democracy movement took off) they sent people to Europe and the US to check it out. They concluded it wasn’t for them. This was a mistake of historical proportions. Their societies basically stopped advancing as the western world grew stronger powered by its freedom.
Muslims are not naturally terrorists. They are simply suffering from pride. They believe they should be having more influence in the world. The most radical amongst them blames the west for their troubles....as if we are keeping them down. The more educated among them understand they shot themselves in the foot years ago and that it is their political systems keeping them down.
No matter what I think or you think, the Iraqi’s have been given an historic opportunity to embrace the concept of freedom. We’ll both just have to sit back and see how it goes. However, I leave you with this. Freedom has worked everytime it’s been tried.....from Japan to Germany to Singapore to Brazil. Free societies are successful societires.
I didn't label all Muslims as terrorists. I said “I have observed that many Muslims don't get along with each other or anyone else and that this holds true in most of the world.”
“They are simply suffering from pride. They believe they should be having more influence in the world. The most radical amongst them blames the west for their troubles....as if we are keeping them down.”
Muslims would laugh at your naive characterization of them. They aren't suffering from pride. Indeed the very idea would be insulting to them. They are not jealous of our success. To them we are beneath their contempt because they hate everything we represent. Our music, our clothes, our religion, everything.
I am not prejudiced against Muslims, but I can recognize when prejudice is directed towards me. Islam is the most intolerant religion on the planet. It is so intolerant that most Muslims don't even consider it intolerant of Islamic terrorists to kill innocent people just because they are not Muslim. Non Muslims are considered less than human by many Muslims so it wouldn't even occur to them that they are prejudiced against us.
Strangely it also doesn't seem to occur to people like you. Are you Muslim?
Took me a couple of days to answer because I was just getting back and had to gather some of the dirt.
There was a mix of Sunnis and Shiites involved in discussions of a coup by "The Return," which is surprising since the Shiites tended to despise the Baath party.
Of course, there were bribes involved to get these people infiltrated into the Ministry of Interior and from what I hear, they're still in the process of rounding up perps. The bribes were paid to the heads of "The Return" by others in order to be recruited.
Provincial elections are next month, so there may be more of this sort of thing coming to light as Maliki tries to consolidate his power and his opponents try to weaken him.
The Minister of Interior himself heads a secular party known as the Constitution Party and he is interested in strengthening that party.
Next month's elections should be interesting, to say the least.
Very interesting.
Thanks!
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