"You would think this would be a major international incident,"

[elehhhhna]

Iraqi escapee back in town -- Ex-electricity minister fled prison last month

January 17, 2007
BY CHRIS FUSCO, LORI RACKL AND NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporters

Despite his apparent status as a fugitive of Iraq's justice system, Aiham Alsammarae was back at work Tuesday at his engineering firm in west suburban (Chicago) Downers Grove.

...

Alsammarae, a dual Iraqi-U.S. citizen who served as Iraq's electricity minister after Saddam Hussein's fall, escaped Dec. 17. He said he walked out of a Baghdad police station, got in a waiting car, then switched cars and was driven to a private jet that whisked him to Jordan.

At the time, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad condemned Alsammarae's escape, said it played no role in it and supported Iraq's efforts to find him. Alsammarae fled a day before he was to face new charges related to missing Iraqi electricity funds -- charges Alsammarae maintains are baseless.

When Alsammarae arrived at O'Hare Airport on Monday night, he was not treated like a fugitive. Federal authorities questioned him but did not detain him, Alsammarae said.

"We permitted him into the country because we deemed him admissible," said Kelly Klundt, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman.

...

"You would think this would be a major international incident," said University of Illinois at Chicago Professor Matthew Lippman. "It's all very shadowy. I believe the U.S. government . . . helped get him over here. And everyone's agreed to let this thing slide."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/213793,CST-NWS-iraqi17.article

[Turbineguy]

1. The US...

a non-extradition treaty country for Iraqi criminals.

[NovaNardis]

3. Well

What do you expect? A PROFESSOR saying that Bush is crazy? He must just be another whacked out liberal.

Considering that the US government is doing a pretty good job spying on innocent anti-war protestors, I believe something nefarious is going on here. Too much to be a coincidence. Bush doesn't care about Iraqi independence. That's why we can't leave.

[USA No. 1]

2. There's a reason......

President Poophead probably needs this guy for something. Maybe he knows where to score good blow.

[Swamp Rat]

4. LOL!

Welcome to DU!

[newyawker99]

11. Hi USA No. 1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Vanje]

5. God Damn it!

I'm getting so sick of this shit!
Alsammarae is a dual citizen.
Any guess as to which political party he serves here in the USA?

[Vanje]

7. Wait for it. ...... Wait for it..........

http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/293/Iraqi_Fugitive_Donated_to_Bush_Campaigns

Iraqi Fugitive Donated to Bush Campaigns
Contributed Before, After Appointed Iraqi Govt. Minister

I
Bush-Alsammarae meeting Sept. 2003
White House Photo
Bush-Alsammarae meeting Sept. 2003
raqSlogger has learned that the ex-Iraqi government minister who is the subject of a nationwide manhunt in Iraq contributed to George W. Bush's presidential campaigns before and after being appointed by U.S. authorities as Iraq's minister of electricity.

Aiham Alsammarae, an Iraqi-American who considered the Chicago area home for 27 years until 2003, escaped his Baghdad Green Zone jail Sunday in an effort to avoid facing prosecution on corruption charges.

After escaping, Alsammarae, in telephone interviews with U.S. newspaper correspondents, taunted Iraqi authorities, said he was fleeing death threats in Iraq, and claimed he had already left the country.

Campaign contribution records show Alsammarae donated $1,000 to the Bush campaign in 1999 and, after being appointed by U.S. Iraq administrator Paul Bremer as Iraq's electricity minister in August 2003, donated $250 to the Bush campaign in April 2004.

Also while serving as Iraq's minister of electricity, he donated $1,500 to the U.S. Republican National Committee and $250 to the Illinois Republican Party.

Prior to his appointment as an Iraqi government minister, and separate from his Bush presidential campaign and RNC contributions, Alsammarae donated nearly $5,000 to the Illinois Republican party and to Republican U.S. senate candidates.

After being appointed by Bremer in 2003, Alsammarae stayed on as the electricity minister in the government of Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi until May 2005.

Alsammarae and the Iraqi minister of public works met President Bush at the White House September 22, 2003.

[tanyev]

6. Dec. 18: Security contractors pull off Baghdad jail break inside Green Zone

According to Judge Radhi Radhi, Iraq's top anticorruption official, two GMC vehicles belonging to an American security company arrived at the Samarrai's jailhouse Sunday afternoon, intimidated the police officers guarding the site and took the suspect away without firing a shot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2940880


This guy must have some very influential friends.

[elehhhhna]

14. Among his friends (co-conspirators?) is

Mister Tony Rezko of Chicago --

Whether Alsammarae will face questions on another front remains to be seen. The feds have expressed interest in Alsammarae's friendship with recently indicted businessman Tony Rezko, the Sun-Times reported last month. Rezko won an Iraqi power plant deal while Alsammarae was electricity minister.



Rezko has some interesting tie/s to Barack Obama, btw. Google it. He's everywhere. Bad moon rising.

[seabeyond]

8. ya well, i cant get over rice saying we are supplying iraq with wmds

i ahve already told a hand full of people and their mouth drops open,.... goes into a grin and a shaking of the head

[Vanje]

9. Iraqi fugitive is bush supporter. Kick this thing!

See my other post in this thread.
He stole money. Lots of money.
Money meant to build electric infastructure in Iraq.

Now he's comfy cozy at home in Chicago,no doubt spending his stolen loot.
That 6 grand he gave to the Bush Campaign was a pretty good investment.

Also, Aiham Alsammarae is associated with DynCorp.

Get your google on, Folks. !'ll bet theres a whole lot more out there.

[Marie26]

13. Yep

He actually escaped Iraqi authorities twice, both times w/help from American contractors.

"Although Alsammarae hit the news this week with tales of a bizarre jail-break from the Green Zone complete with a story of how witnesses said foreign security contractors helped out, it was actually the second time security contractors were said to involved in his ability to avoid Iraqi legal process.

Tippi Rasp of The Enid News of Oklahoma describes the relationship between Alsammarae and George Dillman, a sheriff’s deputy turned DynCorp contractor who got to know the Iraqi/American well while escorting him to his court appearances. Dillman grew to respect Alsammarae and was concerned about his plight. Dillman and Texas lawman Bill Glass said they were not involved in his second escape but had been working for the U.S. Embassy, looking out for Mr. Alsammarae’s safety. In Alsammarae first attempt to escape the two contractors felt that their charge was under threat in jail and after a court hearing drove directly to the U.S. Embassy instead of back to his prison cell. The two DynCorp security contractors were later fired for their actions.

As for his last escape:

Alsammarae had plenty of experience with security contractors. ... They tell the story of five foreigners showing up in two GMC Suburbans and whisking Alsammarae away. In addition, their sources maintain there were only three Iraqi police on guard at the time in the normally crowded station. The same police took ten hours to report his disappearance.

http://mountainrunner.us/2006/12/update_on_the_iraqi_jail_break.html

I'm thinking maybe Alsammarae helped funnel those missing billions of Iraqi money straight to US defense contractors during the Bremer regime.

[bigbrother05]

10. k & r

[gratuitous]

12. Alsammarae waltzes back into the country

But I have to take off my shoes before they'll let me on a plane.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. Love the art of bureaucratic tautology

"We permitted him into the country because we deemed him admissible," said Kelly Klundt, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman.

That's just fucking great.

[elehhhhna]

16. "By the way," she added, "we're still extraditing Dog the Bounty Hunter

to Mexico."









geez!

[LSK]

17. this just illustrates so many wrongs on so many levels

- The guy probably feared any trial in Iraq because the Saddam hangings showed how 15th Century justice is in Iraq

- This guy probably did the crime

- What will the US do about this crime?

Just another example of how after 4 YEARS how COMPLETELY FUCKED UP IRAQ IS.

[quiet.american]

18. Kick. n/t

[elehhhhna]

19. There's 2 BILLION DOLLARS missing in Iraq and he had control of it.

'splains everything.

[truedelphi]

21. Isn't it nine billion? n/t

[rubberducky]

20. This is sssooo wrong.

Wonder if the NSA will be set on this guy to follow the money??? This shit is soooo frustrating.

[Vanje]

22. Kick'n it one more time

Kick!