Out of the shadows: the rise of Baghdad’s new hardman

[CHIMO]

When the United Nations sent Lakhdar Brahimi to Baghdad to form an interim government of “technocrats and professionals” to guide Iraq to its January elections, Iyad Allawi was not even in the frame. But the US and Allawi, a master of backroom political manoeuvring, ambushed the process and the former Saddam assassin broke from a low-profile cover on the Iraq governing council to take power.
Having outflanked the UN last month, Allawi shows signs of squirming out of the control of the US administration that installed him. To become leader, he overcame arch-rival Ahmad Chalabi, the UN and his own shadowy past.

Portrayed as a 58-year-old neurologist who lived in British exile for 30 years, Dr Iyad Allawi in fact helped Saddam kill his way to power in the 1960s. He apparently fled to London in 1971 but remained on Saddam’s payroll for longer.

A former CIA officer, Vincent Cannistraro, said Allawi has “blood on his hands” from his London days. He was involved in Iraqi “hit team” that killed Baath Party dissenters throughout Europe. The break with Saddam came, it is suggested, over money – not political principle.

http://www.sundayherald.com/43475

Looks to me like Negroponte is back in the saddle. Seems like Chalabi departed the scene about the same time that Negroponte was to leave the UN.
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Revised to add the direction to the article.
To reach the article scroll down the page. There are two articles on the page.

[NMDemDist2]

1. meet the new boss...... eom

[mzmolly]

2. Indeed.

:( How's that for liberation folks?

[Leilani]

3. Traded 1 strongman for another

at the cost of 1000 service people, 20,000 severely injured, billions & billions of $$$$$$, & how many Iraqi innocents?

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. I don't think that this guy will last nearly as long as Saddam

The "other side" has more effective death squads than they did when Saddam was in power.

[CHIMO]

6. Don't Forget

That Negroponte has the largest embassy in the world. The majority are CIA. He ruled the death squads in South America twenty some years ago.
To say that he is out of control of his handlers is I think an overstatement, when one doesn't state who his handlers are.
I don't think that he would last a day right now if he didn't have protection.

[Larkspur]

5. Allawi = Saddam version 2.0

Wonder what the odds are on Las Vegas for Allawi to not get assasinated?

[progressivebydesign]

7. I'd say the story, that he assasinated prisoners recently is trueN/T