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To: VaBthang4
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/605fgcob.asp?pg=2

".....Al-Khafaji first came to public notice after revelations that he gave former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter $400,000 to produce a film that criticized the United States for its role in the inspection process. Al-Khafaji, who is listed as a "senior executive producer" of the film, arranged meetings for Ritter with high-level officials in Saddam's government, a feat New York Times magazine writer Barry Bearak found "impressive." Ritter had previously been an outspoken critic of Saddam Hussein, and issued dire warnings about the status of the Iraqi dictator's weapons of mass destruction. His sudden flip--he is now a leading apologist for Saddam's regime--and revelations about Ritter's 2001 arrest for soliciting sex with minors have fueled speculation about the nature of his relationship with al-Khafaji.

Al-Khafaji has long claimed that he cares only about the Iraqi people, an assertion too preposterous even for Ritter, who told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in 2001 that his patron was "openly sympathetic with the regime in Baghdad." That stands to reason. The Falcon Trading Group, a company that al-Khafaji founded in 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa, has done nearly $70 million of business with Saddam's regime.

Al-Khafaji told Baghdad Radio on June 14, 2000, that he hoped to arrange a delegation so that members of the U.S. Congress could "get acquainted with the Iraqi people's suffering as a result of the unjust embargo clamped on it." He got his wish two years later, when he accompanied Reps. Jim McDermott, Jim Thompson, and David Bonior to Baghdad last fall.

McDermott, in particular, caused quite a fuss when in a September 29 appearance on ABC's "This Week" from Baghdad, he claimed, "The president of the United States will lie to the American people in order to get us into this war." Moments later, despite 12 years of evidence that the Iraqi regime had lied about its weapons program, McDermott said, "I think you have to take the Iraqis on their face value." ...


92 posted on 01/28/2004 5:57:38 PM PST by Shermy
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To: Shermy
All of my posts later in the thread were made before I got to your excellent documentation.

I see we both remembered the name.

Interesting if this pans out.

Is this list considered authentic or is it possibly a forgery? The list the thread is based on, I mean.
140 posted on 01/28/2004 6:55:57 PM PST by cyncooper
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To: All
GOOGLE Search Term: "Al-Khafaji"

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Al-Khafaji%22+%0D%0A&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=0
178 posted on 01/28/2004 9:44:37 PM PST by Cindy
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To: Shermy
I have emailed Wolf Blitzer this info, he has Scott Ritter on today at 5. I'll bet dimes to dollars he doesn't use it, but hey, now he's got it.
303 posted on 01/30/2004 12:31:37 PM PST by eyespysomething (Another American optimist!)
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