Curiouser and Curiouser

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/949735.asp?cp1=1

Iraq’s mysteries are of two kinds: no one knows, and no one says

By Rod Nordland
NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

Aug. 7 — Baghdad has become the capital of the unknowable. After the car bombing of the Jordanian Embassy, a small crowd of young men stormed the smoldering wreckage, darting among the scattered debris and body parts, to rip down posters of Jordan’s King Abdullah II and chant “Kill all the Jordanians.”

WHY? NO ONE dared to interview them in that ugly mood, or to point out the obvious to the brainless, that the dead were only Iraqis, mostly guards and passersby. What sense does any of this make?

Such questions come at us from all sides these days. You could stand on a rooftop in Baghdad this afternoon and see the deep black plume of smoke rising from that car bomb, off to the northeast and then look to the southwest and see a similar plume, narrower and blacker but just as high. It rose from an American Humvee that had just been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade on a busy commercial street in the Kerida neighborhood. Black Hawk helicopters circled overhead, two dozen Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles full of troops stormed the scene, shooting into a two-story building. Though the firing went on a long time, the unmistakable sound of return fire from weapons of a different make was lacking.

Exactly what happened here? No one seemed to know, and the troops were too busy shooting to talk. Witnesses say two American soldiers were wounded in their vehicle, but that’s not confirmed. Later CENTCOM will issue its usual terse press release, a few lines to say however many soldiers were shot or killed, with hardly any detail. The release on this one isn’t out yet, but the night before, CENTCOM said, two soldiers from the First Armored were killed in a firefight when they were ambushed somewhere in Baghdad. Where? By whom? Did they get away (as they usually do)? Was it provoked or an accident?

more

[fishnfla]

1. Disturbing

Very well-written analysis, forces you to think. Lots of unanswered questions. What the hell is going on?

[xray s]

2. Sounds like a good description of hell to me

Bush's claim to fame. Hell on earth, courtesy of the Texas oil boys.

[jamesinca]

3. Here is what I think

The Iraqis don't like the Jordanian sympathizers. They don't want anybody in their country that likes the U.S. they don't like their own people associating with the U.S. This is just an expression of this. bin-Laden even called Hussein an infidel for doing business with the U.S. The U.S. is not wanted there, and Bush does not get it.

[hang a left]

4. They get it!

They just don't want America to.

[Rex]

5. Wars sometimes fall into anarchy.

Once forgotten by the news media (lacy who...we got kobe!) the fall into the blackhole of information is inevitable. Forgotten soldiers, forgotten lives, forgotten wars.

[PennyLane]

7. for sure!

Just like the "rare" pneumonia the US troops are dying from in Iraq.
I read the story 3 days before it broke on CNN, in some little Ozark Mountain weekly rag. Now they are saying it could be caused by the Anthrax vaccine, but it's not headline news anywhere!!!

[Rex]

10. I predict that one day we will have to read the

Enquire style mags to know what's really going on, like MIB.

[nolabels]

6. And another piece of that perplexing notion has this story

never answering, just making more questions.
http://www.antiwar.com/latest.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=326901&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Analysis / Jordan wonders what was the message in the Iraqi bus bomb

By Zvi Bar'el

The bus bombing at the opening of the Jordanian
embassy in Baghdad yesterday may mark the opening
of a new era in Iraq, although the method is not
new. So far the attacks in Iraq had
three main characteristics -
striking from ambush with light
firearms and using RPG rockets
or mines, a few suicide bombers
and booby-trapped cars that
exploded in March and April.
And until now all the attacks
were aimed at American or
British military targets, or at

civilian targets acting for them. This time the
attack was well planned, aimed at an Arab
target and intended to send a political
message.

No Iraqi or other organization has claimed
responsibility for the attack and according to
official Jordanian sources there is still no
information pointing in any specific direction.
A senior Jordanian source said yesterday that
"since this was a highly effective assault with
a clear address, it cannot be treated as
another street gang attack or one carried out
by Saddam supporters. Maybe it was Al-Qaida,
wanting take revenge against Jordan's
relentless campaign against their activists in
the past year."

Or, the motive for the attack might be a protest
against Jordan sheltering Saddam Hussein's
family and Jordan's willingness to cooperate
with the American administration in
rehabilitating and running Iraq.

(snip)

[berry]

8. Curious indeed...

What disturbed me about this was that after the bombing, which was presumably done by an "enemy" of the Americans as well as a group that had some reason to attack the Jordanians, the street crowds cheered and burned pictures of King Hussein. Wouldn't people want to act as if they weren't involved in the attack? even if they were happy about it? (though why exactly they hate Jordan isn't clear, even to the Jordanians, we find) So--does this mean that the American authorities, who must have arrived fairly soon after the explosion, didn't care to ask these people what they were doing (destroying evidence?) and why they were so happy? Not enough personnel to handle it? Fear of mob violence, as Nordland suggests? And isn't Baghdad in the Sunni territory? So would they hate Jordan for taking in Saddam's daughters? Unlikely, I would think--unless rumors are spreading that the daughters are captive or something?

I also thought that at the end of the article Nordland sounded frustrated and uneasy, even a little scared (not criticizing him--it sounds wise to be scared). I wonder if more journalists will be pulled out by their organizations if the attacks on non-military targets continues. NGOs aren't going in now, I've heard some say. If this goes on, the US military will be all alone there--just as they wanted to be, with no interference from critics.

This article is DEEPLY disturbing!!

ON EDIT: Do read ALL of the Haaretz article posted above--lots more speculation, including rumors of American involvement. It adds to the disquieting mystery of it all. Here's the link again:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=326901

[nolabels]

11. This is starting to make sense to me now, does any body remember,,,,,

this cretin the * team sent over there with that plane full of men who a lot of ties with operatives of the CIA. His name was Ahmad Chalabi. This guy definitely has an axe to grind with Jordan and the M.O. of the job fits quite well also.

A few men cheering but many from the street not knowing whets going on. Coupled with the quick swooping down of the US military like somebody already knew something and sent them in there to quickly muddy up the waters. Read this story and it might make more sense also

http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=39&contentid=894&page=2

Lying Pays Off: Neo-Cons Learn from Nazi Leaders (continued)
by WAYNE MADSEN

(snip, about half way through on second page)
There are lies, damned lies, and Ahmad Chalabi.

The leader of the Iraqi National Congress, stooge of the neo-cons, and a convicted bank embezzler, is now aiming his wrath at Jordan.

Chalabi, who bilked the American taxpayer out of millions of dollars from State Department and CIA budgets in order to fight his self-styled struggle against Saddam from the restaurants of London's Mayfair District and the clothiers of Savile Row, now claims that recently "found" documents implicating Jordan's Royal Family in Saddam's spider's web.

Of course, it was a Jordanian court that found Chalabi guilty of stealing $300 million from the country's Petra Bank and which sentenced him to over 20 years' hard labor.

It is surprising that it took this Gollum-like sycophantic creature so long to accuse the Jordanians of being in bed with Saddam. Of course, Chalabi will not admit that, in the 1970s, when he was a math professor at the American University of Beirut, he served as agent for the Shah of Iran's feared SAVAK secret police.

So much for Chalabi's 'democratic' credentials and his support for using Iraq as a base for the United States to attack Iran and install the son of the Shah upon a resurrected Peacock Throne.
(snip)

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. So now the real fun begins

that what happens when you make deals with the devil. In this case multiple devils, Chalabi being just one of a bunch of bad grapes. The blowback is a bitch.

[leftchick]

13. makes sense to me too...

Chalabi and his henchmen do the cabal's bidding in bombing the embassy, the next day it is blamed on none other than al Quaida terrorists working in Iraq! Typical scenario for the neocons in charge.

[LEFTofLEFT]

15. sounds like you have made a nice connection

good work

[ewagner]

18. Good work

that's about the only thing that makes any sense.

Wasn't there a post yesterday that said the American military personnel were "still investigating" the bombing? That would indicate that they don't have a clue either.

[JewelDigger]

16. ADTV points to Chalabi 'Supporters'

Middle East TV news channel ADTV just pointed out via a Jordanian political expert that the bombing of Jordanian embassy in Baghdad comes just 48 hours after the Jordanian judiciary demanded the handover of fraudulent banker and Iraqi "opposition" figure Ahmed Chalabi, darling of the US government and key Iraqi figure the US plans to give the lions hare of political clout in "new" Iraq!

The expert noted that this was a "message" clearly sent to Jordan from Chalabi's "supporters" not the Iraqi resistance to military occupation! Yet again, no group claims responsibility for another BIG car bombing.

- From WRH Letters Section 8/7/03

[scarletwoman]

17. Chalabi, YES! AND acting under orders.

I just finished re-reading Graham Greene's The Quiet American. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend that you do so.

For those who have read the book, remember the bombing of the Continental...

The PNAC/OSP/INC people are doing the Pyle/CIA/General The' thing -- bank on it.

sw

[berry]

21. Thank you, scarletwoman, for resurrecting this important thread!

Bingo! Yes, Chalabi fits the bill. That was very good thinking on the part of nolabels. So, now we know that whatever other terrorists there may be in the world, SOME of the terrorists are ours. (Not that we at DU are all that surprised.)

Did anyone else read the thread about the article at CounterPunch by Francis Boyle (?I think), about hating his alma mater, U Chicago? Along with Strauss, Wolfowitz, et al., Chalabi got his PhD there too. He's not just a tool--he's part of the gang.

And this stuff about his links to the Shah--whoa! This is getting into truth-is-stranger-than-fiction territory.

There's another thread out there linking to an article by a guy recently retired from the U of Houston, who's done some work linking some of the organizations and people who have hijacked US foreign policy. His name is Laurence A Toenjes. The article is titled: "U.S. Policy Towards Iraq; Unraveling the Web of People and Organizations." Besides PNAC and some other think tanks, there is the CLI, which I think Chalabi is connected to (?)--in addition to the INC (or whatever his own gang is called).

<<This clique consisted of The Project for the New American Century (PNAC), The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI), The Center for Security Policy (CSP), The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee (DPB), and The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). Based upon mission statements and observed actions, the members of the clique appeared to play somewhat specialized and mutually supporting roles in the policy process. For example, PNAC was instrumental in preparing the over-all plan (Rebuilding America’s
Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century), while
the presence of JINSA helped insure the interests of Israel as well as of the United States. The CLI was set up in the fall of 2002, reportedly at the behest of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, to “engage in educational and advocacy efforts to mobilize US and international support for policies aimed at ending the aggression of
Saddam Hussein and freeing the Iraqi people from tyranny.” That is,
the purpose of the CLI was to sell the war abroad as well as to US
citizens. The CSP prided itself in expertise and facilities to
efficiently disseminate a flood of position papers and press
releases to Congress, the Administration, and the public at large.
The DPB provided a direct link into the bowels of the Pentagon, with
its members having access to classified information and the
opportunity to make private presentations to the upper echelons of
the Department of Defense.>>

You can find the whole article at http://www.opednews.com/toenjessummary.htm

You have to download the Word doc, and it warns you that it takes a long time on dial-up, but it only took me about a minute, so don't be discouraged if you don't have broadband. I'll come back with a link to the DU thread on it later, if I can find it.

For more names of other probably sleazy Iraqis the neo-cons are in bed with (many of whom I'd never heard of), be sure to read the Wash Post article from today by Pincus and ?--very long and lots of detail. Today was a good, rich news/analysis day.

[kentuck]

23. Chalabi was probably in on the BCCI scandal also?

He and Bush go back aways. Yes, the CIA is very adept at car bombs since at least the pre-Viet Nam war days. I think it may be an attempt to divide the Arabs against the Arabs, with the help of the CIA. If they're busy killing each other, we don't have to worry about them killing us...

[0rganism]

9. Just think: if the people on the scene find this bizarre or confusing...

...then it must blow what's left of Chimpy's mind.

I betcha he can't even think about it. Even if he wanted to, his miniscule brain would just short circuit, and go back to pondering T-ball or clearing brush or The Very Hungry Caterpillar or whatever.

The internal social dynamics of Iraq are simply beyond the president's abilities and inclinations to understand. His efforts are completely useless, or worse, to any possible resolution.

[Mari333]

14. and in Afghanistan

we are making deals with the warlords.

and no one knows whats going on there either.

[scarletwoman]

19. I hate to see this thread drop off the first page...

I'd like to see more people "get it".

I was radicalized in the Vietnam era -- if you know what happened THERE, then you know how the Iraq plan is coming along...

sw

[RainDog]

20. Is it radical to see the corruption?

funny, but I don't see that as radical.

I think the policies of certain portions of our govt are treasonous, as well as criminal...as in crimes against humanity.

if that's radical, then that's because the truth is radical. and the truth is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

another truth is that we have very dangerous men controlling America at this time and for those of us who care about this country, her people, we cannot allow their abuses to go unchallenged.

[scarletwoman]

24. Yeah, truth IS radical these days, it seems.

I used the word "radical" on purpose, with the meaning of its Latin root word in mind -- literally, radical means pertaining to the ROOT.

To find the truth one must look deep, one must seek out the roots of things.

sw

[DrBB]

22. We DON'T understand, which is why we shouldn't BE THERE

Hello? Neo-cons? Can I tell ya something? This is THE cardinal lesson of 20th century world history. Ya know that? Of all the myriad lessons you could draw from all that misery and slaughter, this is Numero Uno. So, in case ya weren't paying attention (which obviously you weren't) let me just try to say it so clearly that even a Straussian could understand it:

THIS
IS
WHY
IMPERIALISM
DOESN'T
WORK

M'kay? Only one of those was more than one syllable, but since it is one of your favorite words, I don't think it should give you too much trouble. M'kay? Got it now? No? Well, I guess we're just going to have to learn it again, then, aren't we.

[psychopomp]

25. Confusion is part of the plan

Chaos sets up opportunities for control. I am pretty sure that there are plenty of people that have their contingency plans at the ready to take advantage of this ****storm.

On the "success" of their strategies, I would say that they have managed pretty well. We live in a world where, still, the richest of the rich from the West still have a grip on control in their own countries. Furthermore, these same elites dominate the discussion by framing the conversation about international relations, development and trade in a manner that ensures the survival of their protected interests.

In the Iraq case, what we are up against is detailed in the above article: