Allawi Nominated As Transitional Iraqi PM

AP ^ | 5/28/04 | HAMZA HENDAWI

[TexKat]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi Governing Council on Friday nominated one of its own members, Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, to become prime minister of the new government to take power June 30, members said.

The chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, was at Friday's council session and congratulated Allawi on his nomination, said Mustafa al-Marayati, an aide to council member Raja Habib al-Khuzaai.

The council also planned to nominate a president and two vice presidents. But it was not known whether U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has approved the choices.

Brahimi has been leading the process for drawing up the new government, which also includes 26 Cabinet ministers. The final lineup is scheduled to be announced by Monday.

"The whole process is based on guidelines and recommendations made by" Brahimi, said al-Marayati.

Allawi was endorsed unanimously by the council, council member Mahmoud Othman said.

Allawi was formerly secretary-general of the Iraq National Accord, an opposition group made up in part by former military officers who had defected from Saddam Hussein's regime.

He was part of the opposition to the Iraqi regime in the early 1970s and was at the forefront of the exile movement against Saddam.

During his years in exile, Allawi was the little-known favorite of CIA officers wary of dealing with the flashier, better-known exile leader Ahmad Chalabi.

Chalabi, the favorite of the architects of the Iraq invasion at the Pentagon, has fallen out of favor in recent months after his information about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction was discredited.

While living in London in 1978, Allawi survived an assassination attempt believed to have been ordered by Saddam.

His Iraqi National Accord group advocated a coup against Saddam but an attempt in 1996 failed. Allawi continued to have strong support within the State Department, CIA and Britain's MI-6 intelligence service.

[Eurotwit]

Interesting to see that this guy seems to be the CIA/State Department favourite.

[TexKat]

Also

His Iraqi National Accord group advocated a coup against Saddam but an attempt in 1996 failed.

[TexKat]

Iyad Allawi is seen at a news conference in Madrid Spain, in this Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003 file photo. Allawi, a Shiite Muslim physician who spent years in exile, has been nominated by the Governing Council to become prime minister of the new Iraq government to take power June 30, a council member said Friday, May 28, 2003. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)

[Eurotwit]

I noticed that as well. I commented on a previous thread that I think I remember that Chalabi had a controversial role relating to that coup attempt. Think I need to do a little bit of googling :-)

[Eurotwit]

Rival former exile groups clash over security in Iraq

http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=2170

Heck, the two of them even seem to be related:

"Military affairs are taken care of by another Ahmad Chalabi nephew, his sister’s son, Ali Allawi, named by American viceroy Paul Bremer as new defense minister for the post-June 30 government. Earlier, he was interim trade minister. Ali’s cousin Iyad Allawi also sits on the Interim Governing Council with Ahmad Chalabi. "

http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=128

[Sacajaweau]

I think we kissed Chalabi's butt until we got what we wanted....and that means...all his connections and his paperwork. Had it just amounted to a "see ya", we would have never confiscated his "stuff". Sometimes we're not as dumb as the Dems think.

Interesting also, that after Mayfield, the Muslim "convert" lawyer from Oregon (and a former Ft. Lewis army member) was picked up, quite a few happenings suggest a "connection".

[Eurotwit]

Chalabi has written opinion articles in the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today urging the United States to increase the power of the Governing Council, to speed the transfer of power to Iraqis and to intensify the hunt for remnants of Hussein's Baath Party.

Allawi, in contrast, has argued in opinion articles in the Washington Post and New York Times that the "de-Baathification" of Iraq has gone too far, hurting the innocent as well as the complicit. By excluding people who can make an important contribution, it is slowing Iraq's recovery, he has argued.

"Allawi, who has riled U.S. officials with some of his candid remarks about Iraq, had his wings clipped in December.

During a trip to the U.S. intended primarily so he could work at CIA headquarters, the agency disappointed Allawi by insisting that he cancel meetings with journalists and newspaper editorial boards. "

http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=5490&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported

[pickemuphere]

I think this is a poor, poor choice of a candidate for PM. The fact that he's a former exile and a CIA favorite will not sit well with the Iraqi people. They'll inevitably see him as the puppet of US interests. We should have promoted from within Iraq, simple as that.

I hate watching this adminstration gleefully shoot itself in the foot.

[Eurotwit]

Perhaps, I am naive, but I don't think the administration picked Allawi. The Iraqis in cooperation with Brahimi did.

[RightWhale]

Let's get the letterhead printed up. Just a small order.