Posted on 06/03/2004 1:45:57 PM PDT by Reagan Man
Whether Ahmed Chalabi or Iyad Alawi emerged as the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, liberals were going to be unhappy.
Until the home of Iraqi National Congress director Ahmed Chalabi was raided by U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police, liberals hated him. They said he was a puppet of the Pentagon, that he fed the United States bad intelligence in order to promote war in Iraq, and that he was one of those dreaded “neocons” we keep hearing about.
“Neocon pundits,” wrote David Olive in the Toronto Star, “see Ahmed Chalabi as America's best hope in post-war Iraq. But to many insiders, he's the snake-oil salesman who seduced Bush's superhawks…”
Molly Ivins blamed Chalabi for the Abu Ghraib atrocities, which, in effect, blamed “the neocons” to whom she repeatedly referred. Then, utilizing the best of her terrific vocabulary, she asked, “Could this entire disaster in Iraq be as simple as, ‘We wuz conned?’”
Maureen Dowd acknowledged that Chalabi was the “thief of Baghdad,” but couldn’t quite contain her delight over the possibility that he may have “obligingly conned the neocons.”
But then we raided Chalabi’s lavish Baghdad home, confiscating papers and computers, and accused him of spying for Iran. Suddenly, without any significant transition, liberals warmed up to him. They were shocked and dismayed that we would have the sheer indecency to seize the belongings of a man suspected of selling secrets to one of the Axis of Evil nations.
They still hated him, of course, but not with nearly the same vigor. He was a con artist, they insisted, but who could blame him?
Particularly representative of this viewpoint was a column in The Register (U.K.). “Now Chalabi is in disgrace,” wrote the author. “His offices and house have been raided and his outfit cut off from the $340,000 per-month pension that the Pentagon brass had kept it on as a reward for lying to them.”
Prior to the espionage allegations, most people following the war believed that Chalabi was a potential choice for interim Prime Minister -- the leader of Iraq following the June 30 transfer of power. He’d spent many years seeking the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and may have played a critical role in developing our case against Iraq’s post-Gulf War weapons programs. Once our posture toward Chalabi changed, however, the Prime Minister position was up for grabs.
It didn’t last long. Within weeks of Chalabi’s nose-dive into the great chasm of failed politicos, Iraqi neurologist Iyad Alawi was chosen to serve as interim PM. Liberals are furious.
The gnashing of teeth at the New York Times office was especially loud. While their editorial on the subject of Alawi’s nomination contained several criticisms, the argument on which it was most unrelenting is that -- of all things -- Alawi is a Baathist. (The Times isn’t alone in this lie. Radio Australia ran an article on its website entitled “United Nations accepts nomination of Baathist prime minister.”)
Obviously it wouldn’t quite behoove the United States to allow a Baathist to run Iraq. That’s why we’re not. Dr. Alawi broke with the Baath party in 1971 and fled to London. The notion that he’s still a Baathist, or that he’s been one in the last 30 years, is false.
The Times also wants you to believe that Alawi’s nomination “raises questions about the authority of the United Nations' special representative, Lakhdar Brahimi.” They didn’t say why.
Actually, the U.N. is smitten over Alawi. Kofi Annan’s spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said that Brahimi is “ready to work with” Alawi, and that Mr. Annan “respects” the nomination. For people who love the U.N. as much as liberals do, you’d think they’d be thrilled.
Another reason liberals should be pleased with Alawi is that, like them (sometimes), he doesn’t like Ahmed Chalabi. A bitter rivalry grew between them until they finally split up in the mid-1990s, when Alawi’s anti-Baathist group attempted to depose Saddam.
Though perhaps we don’t know enough about Alawi to predict his performance, liberals are acting positively batty. They wailed about Ahmed Chalabi, but then instantly sympathized with him as soon as we thought he was a spy. Then we got Alawi, who seems to fit all the qualifications, and liberals are grouchy again. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they aren’t really interested in success in Iraq at all.
Isaiah Z. Sterrett, a resident of Aptos, California, is a Lifetime Member of the California Junior Scholarship Federation and a Sustaining Member of the Republican National Committee.
Ya think?
Er...I guess this is "democracy" without the "demo." How many votes have been cast to elect this current government?
Exactly.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I also think it's fairly absurd to go around calling an appointed government a "democracy."
Yes. Okay. The governing council was appointed. However, this is another small step in the right direction. While Iraqi's don't appear to have someone who fits the shoes of Washington, Jefferson or Franklin, let's look on the bright side of things. Saddam is gone and the terrorists are in further disarray. If things can work out in Iraq, it could build a set new standards for the future of the entire region. Fact is, it will take time. Lot'sa time.
".... If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they aren’t really interested in success in Iraq at all."
The dem/libs have never been interested in a success in Iraq. They have been using the war in Iraq and the war on terror as a tool to unseat Bush and get their power back. Their treasonous attitiude is enough to make a true American sick at heart.
Well, semantics, I guess. Of course, how many people refer to the US as a "democracy" everyday as well? ;)
Many people, and many countries, want us to fail in Iraq.
Uh...john....you do realize that this is just the first steps don't you? You do know that elections can't be held until the census is complete and the polls will open in December or January at the latest. You DO know that, right?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.