Free Republic

The pledge by the United States to the Iraqi people is to replace dictatorship with democracy, fear with freedom. Yet the man the United States has put in charge of Iraq, the Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, is accused of the cold-blooded murder of up to six young men just days before he took power. The accusation has not been lightly made and cannot easily be swept aside. The allegations against Dr Allawi were first aired in this newspaper in a story by our chief correspondent, Paul McGeough, an experienced, highly regarded journalist with extensive first-hand experience in Iraq. The report...

WITNESSES have reportedly told an Australian journalist how new Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi shot and killed up to six prisoners just days before his government took control of the country. A newspaper report today said the two witnesses saw Dr Allawi pull a pistol and execute suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station. Dr Allawi's office has denied the claims and branded them "outrageous". The witnesses said the handcuffed and blindfolded prisoners were lined up against a wall in a courtyard next to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security centre. They say...