Tehran Times: U.S. Plots Coup in Iraq to Bring Baathists to Power

[BurtWorm]

http://www.watchingamerica.com/tehrantimes000032.shtml

Has the White House decided the democratically elected Iraqi governemnt has failed? According to this op-ed article from Iran's tightly-controlled Tehran Times, the Bush Adminstration has decided to engineer a return to Sunni-Baathist control, against the will of Iraqi majority Shiites - and more importantly, Iran's Shiites.

By Hassan Hanizadeh

November 26, 2006
Iran - Tehran Times - Home Page (English)


The terrorist bombings that killed more than 220 residents of Baghdad's Sadr City on Thursday have caused great concern among Iranians. The bloodshed comes at a time when U.S. forces are responsible for maintaining security in important areas of Iraq's cities.

The increasing insecurity and the focus of the terrorist attacks on Shiites show that there's an organized conspiracy against the Iraqi majority. Vice President Dick Cheney's secret visit to Baghdad and former secretary of state James A. Baker, who is currently the chairman of the Iraq Study Group, are both part of the conspiracy.

<Editor's Note: Although widely reported, Vice President Cheney's office has denied he visited Baghdad>.

As these developments were unfolding, it was announced that Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi foreign minister and close aide of Saddam Hussein, would soon be released from prison.

In fact, these events are all part of a new American plot to topple Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's elected government and hand control of the country to Baathist elements.

After 43 months of occupation, American plans in Iraq have hit a brick wall. U.S. officials believe that the root of their failure is that Shiites are struggling to regain their rights through democratic elections. But the Americans are under the mistaken belief that Iraq's minority can best guarantee U.S. interests because they enjoy the support of some Arab states .


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PER DU RULES.

[eallen]

1. Again?

[CJCRANE]

2. Too late, wouldn't work.

Can't put the omelette back in the egg.

[leftchick]

3. this I can believe

Kissinger at work again.

[Flabbergasted]

4. This may confirm it a little....but I suspect that this article is only partially true

http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6083&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

According to the Iraqi newspaper Al- Quds al-Arabi, James Baker, the Bush family’s Mr. Fixit , recently met with one of Saddam Hussein’s lawyers in Amman, Jordan, and told him that the former deputy prime minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz, would be released from detention by December in order to negotiate with the US on behalf of factions of the Iraqi resistance movement still controlled by old Ba’ath Party leaders

snip

Sources in Jordan tell me that the first stage of such negotiations has indeed already taken place. Two weeks ago, Aziz was whisked from his jail cell and, along with other representatives of Iraq’s Sunni Resistance, taken for three days’ of secret discussions in Amman with senior US officials. It is heartening to note that this course of action was advised by the Atlantic Free Press three weeks ago. Aziz and his colleagues are currently discussing America’s proposals with the divisional resistance leadership, whose response and counter-offers they will present to Washington early next month.


snip


The official wing of US Government was represented in Gulf War 2: Retreat from Iraq by George W. Bush’s security adviser, Stephen Hadley, who presented the following proposals regarding the future to Iraqi officials during his recent trip to Baghdad:

* Any initiative towards national reconciliation must now include Iraqi resistance and opposition leaders
* There must be a general amnesty for armed resistance fighters
* There must be a disbanding of militias and death squads
* Any federalist proposals dividing Iraq into three states must be abandoned in favor of a strong centralist authority combined with greater self-rule for local governors
* That oil revenues must be distributed more equitably for the benefit of all Iraqis, including the Sunnis whose region contains little of the resource

.....

[Eugene]

5. Despite an obvious bias, the Times article has a kernel of truth.

The U.S. is not anti-Shiite, it's pro-oil and pro-stability in persuit
of that oil. The Shiite-controlled Iraqi government is not getting the
job done as far as U.S. interests are concerned. The talk of a strongman
or a junta of strongmen has been audible for weeks.

However, I doubt that BushCo is so disillusioned with the new Iraq that
they would let the Baath anywhere near power. If they had that much sense,
they would press the Iraqi govermnent to spare Saddam.

[roamer65]

6. The Shi'ites will rise up and overthrow any Sunni gov't.

Pandora is out of the box and she has no intention of returning to it. Chimp should have listened to Poppy.

[tom_paine]

7. Ummmm...the Tehran Times is as believable as Fox "News"

Which is to say it is not believable at all.

[BurtWorm]

9. Of course it isn't. believable.

What is interesting about this article is that it reflects what the Iranian government (which is Shiite, it should go without saying), wants the Iranian people to believe about the civil war next door. That's the only reason this is of interest to me. They clearly want the Iranian people to take a position on what is going on in Iraq.

[The Magistrate]

11. Indeed, Sir

They want their people to perceive the U.S. as the scourge of the Shia. The Sunni in Iraq, of course, believe alternately that the Shia are our favorites, or that we are the Shia's dupes and pawns. Everyone wants to be the side the U.S. is against: being an occuppying power in a place at civil war is an unconfortable perch....

[BurtWorm]

15. Well said, sir.

That, in a nutshell, is the US's quandary. (Or the quandary of those in the US who worry about such things, which apparently doesn't include the Bushists.)

[tom_paine]

18. Sorry, Burt. Didn't mean to patronize you.

Actually, I don't think I even noticed it was you who posted. Sort of a knee-jerk quip.

I get your point, now. My bad.

[BurtWorm]

20. No problem.

I probably should have stated in the OP what I stated to you.

:toast:

[CurtEastPoint]

8. LOL! I thought this said bringing BAPTISTS to power in Iran!

Well, that would be the frying pan into the fire! (and brimstone!)

[Imagevision]

10. Looks like Regime change once again in Iraq... americans, aren't we something else?!!

[lovuian]

12. Can we rewind time can we bring back Saddam and buds

I don't think so but evidentally Cheney and crew ...

[goforit]

13. At this point I believe anything with these Bozos!!!

[Democrats_win]

14. Democratcynow.org talked about this a couple of weeks ago: Baker group might try it.

The idea of a coup to install a strong man. Never heard any more about it till this thread. Obviously it would be quite a coup to replace Saddam with another strong man! Maybe it was just a famous Washington "trial balloon" that went nowhere because now the talk is all about getting help from the other countries like....Iran?

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Sounds about right.

Add in one Cheney trip to visit the house of Saud and one leaked report of a pull out from the Sunni stronghold of al anbar and I say it is not a bad bet that we are about to stab al maliki in the back, double cross the secular/moderate shiites, and swing our support in the civil war over to the Sunnis. What an f'ing joke. A sick black murderous joke.

[cassiepriam]

17. Haven't we spent $2 Trillion to get the baathists out????

And killed many many Iraqis and Americans towards that end?

[mc jazz]

19. incompetense

they shouldn't be choosing any side in this, first the Shiites now the Sunnis
They stop fighting Al Queda and take on Hezbolah Shiites instead
Why else was Cheney out there talking about Saudi being the future in the region
Saudi's being so into Wahhabi and all, how can they be trusted to get rid of Al Queda if they support (fund, arm) Sunni malitia who say they are bathist?