Chalabi calls for security to be handed over to Iraqis after Najaf outrage

[RamboLiberal]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1514&u=/afp/20030829/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_najaf_blast_reax_030829173023&printer=1

A member of Iraq (news - web sites)'s US-appointed Governing Council called on Friday for internal security to be handed over to Iraqis following the killing of top Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim in a devastating car bombing in the holy city of Najaf.

Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Pentagon (news - web sites)-backed Iraqi National Congress (INC), blamed remnants of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime and supporters of the al-Qaeda terror network for the attack, which came a little over a week after another deadly bombing wrecked the UN headquarters in Baghdad.

"This is not an inter-Shiite affair," Chalabi told AFP, flatly rejecting the suggestion that the attack could have been triggered by rivalries over the mantle of leadership of Iraq's majority Shiite community.

"The attack was against the holy shrine," he said in a reference to the mausoleum of Imam Ali, outside of which the bombing that claimed at least 82 lives occurred.

For a Shiite to carry out such an action "would be like a Catholic blowing up the Pope at St. Peter's," said Chalabi, himself a Shiite, albeit a secular one.

[Barrett808]

1. Of course he does

<Mr. Burns voice> "Excellent. It's all coming together."

[pfitz59]

3. The thousand year reich........

Its mine, all mine!

[Barrett808]

2. "Remnants of the ousted regime must be incarcerated in the thousands"

That's nice.

[AntiCoup2K4]

4. Why doesn't Chalabi take a nice scenic drive into Jordan....

... and we'll see who gets "incarcerated" :evilgrin:

[Caution]

5. I wonder if this idiot

thinks he has a snowball's chance in hell of coming out of this thing alive? His own people despise him, he's wanted in Jordan, the neocons are already claiming that him and his fellow iraqi defectors mislead them about the WMD. What're the chances they allow him to live? Seriously...this guy has the lifespan of a fruitfly right about now.

:tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat::tinfoilhat:

[fizzana]

6. While his idea actually makes sense I don't trust his

motivation for saying it one iota.

[w13rd0]

7. You shouldn't...

...he wants to be the next US propped up Saddam-like dictator of Iraq. The man has no interest in the people of a nation he left as a toddler...

[Cocoa]

12. his motivation is that it's a popular position in Iraq

he's been positioning himself as a "critic" of the U.S. from the time he got there. I guess he knows his legitimacy is next-to-nothing in Iraq, he's got a lot of work to do to look half-way independent.

[0007]

8. This guy should be taken straight to Jordan

Chalabi is a US Rumsfield whore and everyone knows it. It was probably Chalabi that blew up the Jordan Embassy, I mean it this guy
is one of the main players.

Google this thug.

[LoneStarLiberal]

9. Replacing the Fox With the Wolf

Of course Chalabi wants us out...hell, we're stealing the stuff he wants to steal! Zero-sum! Zero-sum! Not enough hens in the hen house for Bush the Fox and Chalabi the Wolf to both come out fat and happy...

[AntiCoup2K4]

10. Slight correction... It's FAUX, not FOX

Whether you're talking about the propaganda channel, or the Idiot Son of an Asshole whome they promote 24/7.

[Kbowe]

11. I tell you, I do not believe that a Muslim group..no matter how militant

would bomb a Mosque during holy prayers. This was a black bag job if ever there was one. Has any group claimed responsibility? Now wait for two or more groups to claim responsibility as with the bomb in Israel. This will mean that someone wants the Muslims to get blamed no matter what. They know that most Americans can't think their way out of a paper bag so the ridiculousness of this fiendish act being purpertrated by Arabs will escape most of them.

[Wwagsthedog]

13. CIA black bag job?

Sure wouldn't put it past them. If so, what is their reason? Does continued chaos mean we should expect some kind of crecendo in September?

[aquart]

14. Wasn't another cleric blasted to kingdom come recently?

It seems to me that this bombing signifies understanding that America is not a player in the Middle East anymore.

We've been exposed as weak. They pick off our people at will. We can't protect the oil we came for or anything else.

So the Civil War has begun. Who will rule Iraq? It won't be America.

As for it being a black bag job, who would benefit? Exposing our weak inability to guarantee even safety at worship is to our benefit? To Bush's benefit? To Halliburton's?

Wait. It must be evil Israel. Like Bush wouldn't punish them for making him look bad. What possible advantage is there to Israel in this?

We're not in Kansas anymore, kids. And we're not controlling the action.

[QuietStorm]

16. there is no

Israel separate from the US. I get that they are allies in this war. Israel is probably providing a good deal of intelligences for the US, they are on the team.

[starroute]

18. There was an attempt to kill Seyed Mohammed Said al-Hakim

A week ago, there was an explosion near his home that killed two bodyguards and a driver, but he got off with minor injuries. He's the uncle of Mohamed Baqr al-Hakim, who was killed today.

[QuietStorm]

15. I had the same thought

I have to say... I understand their rancor between the sunni's and the shi ite's but since when would either bomb a mosque. Is there precedence for both these groups warring and then on top of that warring in the midst of an occupation???

[shirlden]

17. What ever happened to

That group of 75 or so thugs who accompanied Chalabi back to Iraq. The last time I remember them being seen was at the toppling of the Saddam statue where they played the part of local Iraqis for the benefit of the Merikan public.

Seems to me, I recall, that they had been well trained by our military or CIA or something to be a paramilitary unit under command of Chalabi. I know a DUer will correct me here if I am not remembering this correctly. However, it would be interesting to know what they are up to now.

Chalabi was "our" pick to be the next dictator of Iraq, but when the people threw granades instead of flowers, our strategy was blown to hell. Now we have to find another way to get him established and he is just saying and playing whatever little game the neocon bosses tell him to. If these explosions at the Jordanian embassy, the UN and the Mosque are black ops, it is all part of the game to get Chalabi set up to take control.

[TolstoyAndy]

22. Exactly

(and several of the next posters are on the rt track)

Chalabi wants Iraqis to take control of security ... and he's got just the Iraqis in mind to do it, I'm sure.

I just posted on another thread that the CIA has a track record of car-bombing mosques on Fridays to kill people they don't like:

Frontline said it, not me

[Junkdrawer]

19. Guess who heads the Iraqi Governing Council in Sept: Ahmad Chalabi...

In a landmark for the 25-member Governing Council that Bremer brought into existence, the organization announced this week that it would function with a nine-member rotating presidency, beginning with the first name in the Arabic alphabet, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a representative of the Islamic Dawa Party which was banned under Saddam Hussein.

Al-Jaafari will be followed in September by Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi, who has strong support in the Pentagon, and in October by Iyad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim doctor who heads the Iraq National Accord, which has deep roots in the opposition to Saddam both at home and abroad.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,93376,00.html

[ewagner]

20. hypothesis

it appears that the only way out of this mess for the US is to prop up a strong man, arm him to the teeth to keep the opposition at bay and then the US will boogie off smartly.

Chalabi looks like he is trying to position himself to be the chosen one.

[Junkdrawer]

21. Ya think??? And funny how people who oppose him keep ...

turning up dead. And he's always first on the scene to point the finger at "Saddam loyalists".

[Bozita]

23. I'm sure that Judith Miller of the NYT agrees.

shame on the NYT

[Aidoneus]

24. Chalabi's not the only one claiming this was "regime loyalists"

the top story at IRNA regarding the martyring of Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim is his brother, Abdelaziz al-Hakim, claiming it is "loyalists to Iraq's ex-regime", it seems during an interview with Lebanon's Al-Manar TV station. Another Iranian news page said, ..."Minutes before his martydom, the Ayatollah blamed the United States for the incumbent insecurity in Iraq."...

Either these people learn the script well or it really was "Saddam loyalists" this time.. Though I have suspicion whenever that is spit out by the propaganda robots and war cheerleaders, it's actually somewhat believable this time for Hakim has been one pillar of a revolutionary thorn in the Baathists' side for decades. :shrug:

[0007]

25. bbt

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