The Bushies Just Make it Up: Iraq & al-Qaeda
Bush was out there again on Wednesday trying to link Iraq to al-Qaeda and maintaining that the US was mainly fighting it in that country. In fact, No Mahdi Army Shiites are al-Qaeda. Almost all Sunni Arab guerrilla cells are Baathist or Salafi rather than al-Qaeda. Probably of 100,000 guerrillas fighting in Iraq, perhaps 2% could be categorized in some vague way as "al-Qaeda" if you take that term as referring to a franchise. They are mainly foreign fighters and if the US left Iraq, the local Sunni Arabs would slit their throats. Some slitting is going on even now, and the Bushies celebrate that while not seeming to recognize the implication that "al-Qaeda" doesn't amount to anything as an Iraqi political force.
But this making up things out of thin air is typical of W.'s Propaganda Presidency, or what Chris Floyd calls the "powerful odor of mendacity."
And all along the Bushies have invoked al-Qaeda with regard to Iraq. It doesn't matter what the real situation in Iraq is. Is it ruled by secular Sunni Arab nationalist Baathists who are afraid of al-Qaeda according to documents Bush himself captured and released? Nevertheless, Bushies find al-Qaeda in Iraq. Is Iraq dominated by Shiites allied to Iran? Bushies find an alliance with al-Qaeda. Like tax cuts, it is the answer to every problem.
On 25 July 2002, Doug Feith's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OUSDP) issued a statement linking al-Qaeda to Saddam Hussein through a Dutch company named Vlemmo NV.
This sort of allegation was typical of Feith, who had been asked in January of 2002 to come up with material on the [imaginary] relationship of Bin Laden and Iraq by his superior (who had hired him apparently for this sort of purpose), Paul Wolfowitz.
Feith had been investigated by the FBI earlier in his career as a possible Israeli intelligence asset and was raised in a fringe, far-rightwing Zionist family. His father was a member of Betar, the organization devoted to teachings of fascist Zionist thinker Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky and to "Greater Israel" expansionism. Persons in this tradition often believe that Israel extends into Iraq itself.
Now it turns out that Feith just made up the Netherlands firm. According to the Netherlands Foreign Minister, it does not exist. . Just like virtually none of the things Feith peddled to us has has any reality. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz put Feith in a position to lie our troops into harm's way, as the number three man in the Pentagon. Feith bears responsibility for his lies and fabrications. His superiors are even more culpable.
See Think Progress for more of the context here.
Update: Bob Harris discovers that Vlemmo existed, but was Belgian. That it was an operational link between Saddam and Bin Laden and that it was Netherlands were the two big fantasies.
Labels: Iraq
posted by Juan Cole @ 5/24/2007 12:02:00 AM
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11 Comments:
Here are the indisputable facts:
1. The intelligence agencies of these here them united states warned the Bushiites that invading and occupying Iraq would escalate Islamist radicalism, recruitment and terror attacks in Iraq and across the world.
2. The intelligence agencies of these here them united states warned the Bushiites that invading and occupying Iraq would lead to civil breakdown and sectarian violence that would require hundreds of thousands of troops.
3. The Bushiite cabal refused to acknowledge these warnings and went ahead with an ill-planned invasion, sending in 25% of the troops required with inadequate body and vehicle armor.
4. The Bushiite cabal refused to acknowledge that an insurgency had broken out in Iraq in 2003, but kept blaming Baathist dead-enders.
5. The Bushiite cabal refused to acknowledge that the Iraqi insurgency was drawing widespread support in the Iraqi Sunni community, but instead kept blaming Al Qaeda.
6. The Bushiite cabal refused to acknowledge that the militias they were propping up among the Kurdish and Shiite groups would unleash a sectarian war.
7. Once having let the militia out of the bag, the Bushiite cabal refused to acknowledge that these militia leaders had achieved significant political power and prowess.
8. The Bushiite cabal keeps referring to Iraqis who yearn for Bushiite values and support the Bush War in Iraq - but who are these Iraqis?
9. The Bushiite cabal refuse to acknowledge that their presence in Iraq has bolstered the appeal, recruitment and capabilities of radical Salafi groups, and has led to a dramatic rise in terrorism across the world. The Bushiites keep pretending that all of this was going to happen anyway.
One of the most dishonest and disingenius arguments the Bushiites bray out every now and then is that the radical Salafis would have carried out such attacks irrespective of whether the US invaded Iraq. This assumes that there is a finite population of Salafis who, generation after generation, are tied to the idea of waging war against the West. This is a stupid assumption.
Anyone who has studied terrorism will know that the objective of the terrorists is to draw a disproportionate response to their attacks, precisely because they need to expose such heavy-handedness in order to bolster their propaganda.
El Presidente Arbusto seems only to be able to oscillate between what God wants and what Osama wants. All the rest of us are either with him, or against him.
(Links to articles are on my blog.)
Thanks for the information about Doug Feith and Vlemmo NV. I will admit that I have a very hard time believing that he just made it up though... not even a shell company, that's too odd (for someone who had the resources to do such).
Just for giggles, I searched "V Lemmo" on google and came up with someone involved in Pharmaceuticals and biopharm.
Wasn't Donald Rumsfeld on the BoD of some pharmaceutical company?
Spooky....
If I were a paranoid (sometimes) I could also go on to say that Osama bin laden was a CIA asset (as recently as Kosovo in the early 90s), and the Baathists had been 'penetrated' early on in Saddam Hussein's rise to power(per professor Cole's State department acquaintance).
Therefore if if the CIA set up a front company, they could easily (and disingenuously) say that UBL and Saddam were 'linked' if they were being debriefed by the same CIA handler.
I'll stop now... before I saw the limb I've climbed out on off.
'...Bushies celebrate that while not seeming to recognize the implication that "al-Qaeda" doesn't amount to anything as an Iraqi political force.'
It is often a question as to how much the people in charge want (others) to understand. This might be likened to comparing the mechanical features of cars (displacement, transmission, steering, and so on) when the majority just want to have some sort of reliable transportation. While the salesmen might have the facts and figures down, the simple fact of the matter is the buyers would prefer to have the illusions of something special about their purchase rather than anything too technical. No exploded views or engineering specifications; just six wheels that are functional.
This holds true for Iraq, as well. It must be easier to cite 'al-Qaeda' as the bugboo in the country or region if only because all of the other factions and tribes and various divisions within the country become too complex and confusing for the average person to learn and understand, much less diagram. Therefore, it is easiest for the 'leadership' to use tried and true familiar terminology that will not cause any dismay in those who might then want to ask any more 'in-depth' questions and not get any qualitative answers.
The sad thing is that the politicians are thereby relieved of having to really learn and understand anything beyond what they will have to say in and sell to the public lest they want to get sideblinded by someone who might set them up. The more informed people are thereby kept at bay simply because they all know that there will be nothing substantive discussed. Glaring generalities will always avoid the pitfalls of having to know anything. As we already know, whenever Younger George speaks off script, he gets himself into trouble. People like Younger George because he won't confuse them with in-depth details, facts, or anything that contributes to the truth of the matters.
Certainly, 'al-Qaeda' is probably operating in theatre, just as who knows how many other groups, potentially allied and aligned with whoever has the best programme going. The formula was refined back in the 1980ies when the Muhajadeen fighters were funded by everyone non-Soviet, getting the religious fighters into battle to preserve their lands and beliefs. The hatred for the United States has become the latest in a long series of incursions by the 'West' into the Middle East and SouthWest Asia, providing recruiting opportunities for anyone who wants to take up the cause. Not only are there the actual combatants but those who fund and supply them through various means, offering up what might be termed the 'Frank Costello'* form of patriotism or purposeful commitment, that of paying their tax. The grassroots or sagebrush activism is something that UbL has been using for some 25 years, employing tested techniques for graymailing the regions' regimes, taking their jihads elsewhere.
Just as the Americans are obliged to fund their military efforts, the Arabs and others are similarly affected. It can only be assumed that the very simple and basic terms are used in order to get the coffers filled, given that the educational level of religous zealots is usually focussed on their holy books preferred over or excluding more diverse teachings. 'Literacy' is a nebulous term, not indicative of any broad exposure to issues and answers. Those who might most easily align with UbL probably have less options in their own lands to seek their misfortunes. The Iraqis and others are more nationalistic or localised in their perspectives. And, the Iraqis now have the most axes to grind, something the 'leadership' has caught onto, given they don't give too many Iraqis visas into the U.S. 'Al-Qaeda' is also, therefore, a dissembling term, used to obfuscate the fact that the Iraqis might want to exact some revenge of their own and on the Americans' home turf.
Simplistic sloganeering and easy catch words provide the means by which the vapours can fog the porous ponderings of the vacuous populace. Nothing can be well-described as there is little that can be seen as distinguishable and definable, like hot lava rocks hit with water in a sauna. Just as with the 'WMD' and tyranny of Saddam Hussein, there are too many uncertainties. The weapons proved to be nonexistent and the conditions in Iraq are much worse now when than under the strongman's grip. But 'mushroom clouds' and 'Arab Hitler' are emotionally charged, conjuring all sorts of imaginary situations, ignoring the facts of what the intervention has wrought. 'Al-Qaeda' comes into focus in the same (non)sensical way, inspiring fear and uncertainty while simultaneously allowing conditions in which definition can never be achieved, if only to distract people from the Iraqi threats.
Again, the intricacies of the composition of what barely passes for Iraqi society are not unlike a mosaic that has been shattered, leaving everyone to guess how the whole thing is supposed to be reassembled. Leaving the puzzle solving to those who are best served by continuing the pouring of resources into the money pit might not provide and accurate image once all is said and done. But: who will know the difference? This is taking on an almost religious tone in that those who are putting together the holy book of Iraq are using their decadent liberality to include and exclude at will what they like or dlon't like, respectively. But, where have we seen this before? How many religiously zealous people have preceded the Americans on other Crusades, relying on reports of infidels and heathens and whathaveyou to raise their feeble spirits and febrility? And, taking their inspiration from a heavily edited holy book containing just what the empowered wanted, printed for the longest time in an obscure foreign language, unfathomable by the legions of the illiterate?
Ah, the formula that never fails! Can't call anyone a liar if no one can ever know the truth!
* Costello was the boss of bosses in the mid-20th Century mob scene who, when asked by Congress what he had done of any value for the U.S., he replied that he had paid his tax. This the form of 'patriotism' that many in the US have when it comes to the Iraq misadventures, their active support limited to their monetary contributions through income and payroll taxes.
Maybe Bush has bigger plans and this issue over funding has been to see how far he can go with Congress and if they will be an obstacle.
Bush doesn't care about his poll numbers. He doesn't care about breaking the law or violating the Constitution. He's used signing statements to bypass laws he doesn't like, and he's militarized the civilian infrastructure of the government.
Bush already has everything in place and literally has no opposition from the other branches of government, Republican or Democrat, that can stop him. He has all the military people in place: General Michael Hayden at the CIA, Lt. Gen. Lute is "war czar", Gen. Petraeus is the ombudsman between the Bush and congress.
If he's started to undermine Iran's government and then uses nukes on them in another "war" of his making, he's more likely to postpone the 2008 elections (maybe indefinitely).
Bush and Cheney will then have completed their coup d' etat of the US by going into Iran.
Dr. Cole:
As I’m sure you’re aware, the big story today (at least the one that’s getting the most MSM attention) is George W. Bush’s claim that Osama bin Laden planned to use Iraq as base for carrying out terrorist attacks, a claim he says justifies the Iraq War. As yet I’ve seen no one rebut this wild claim in the following manner:
bin Laden is still alive;
bin Laden, and al Qaeda, would not even BE in Iraq had the United States military not invaded it, de-stabilized the country and turned it into a no-man’s land, and therefore neither would not be in a position to even THINK about being able to launch attacks from bases in Iraq;
It was the INTELLIGENCE community, not the military, that thwarted the alleged attack plans;
There is/was no link between al Qaeda and bin Laden and Saddam Hussein (it seems silly to even have to say that—again);
The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, by Bush’s admission, has enabled terrorist groups to set up training camps in Iraq;
The instability that has permitted the conditions in (5) above are the result of a flawed decision to invade Iraq in the first place, flaws attributable to an ideology based on ignorance and wishful thinking, and of a disastrous post-invasion policy (or the lack thereof) for Iraq.
So the conditions of which Bush speaks to bolster his claim that the war was justified are ones that he himself has created. Take the invasion of Iraq out of the equation and none of these conditions exists. In fact, perhaps bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is destroyed.
David C. Schrader, Ph.D.
A little more research, please.
The Belgian Government register shows a company called Vlemmo went bankrupt in Antwerp in 2004.
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/mopdf/2004/03/29_1.pdf
And Dutch is one of the Belgian official languages too!
So before leaping to conclusions that the comapany is in the Netherlands just because the name is Dutch, please think again.
Feith did not say allege a Belgian company. He alleged a Dutch company. And, there wasn't any link between Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein through any such company.
He made it up.
I think there is a military solution for Iraq, and I think its one that CHENEY/bush will be totally comfortable with. The military will be the Iraqi Army the solution will be a miltary dictatorship.
As the Iraqi Army gets stronger and its chain of command becomes more finely tuned, the elected government will be no match for the military institution.
The elected government is tasked with creating a Western style democracy (something our own elected government seems to have difficulty sustaining). It doesn't have the credibility, loyalty, expertise, and historic underpinning that it would take to even attempt such a monumental challenge.
On the other hand the Army has a far simpler task. Take off the gloves and restore order (meaning the absence of pervasive violence).
For the US its much easier to bolster the Army than it is to create a miracle working civil administration. We can give the Army billions in weapons, graft, hard currency etc all within the rubrick of "them standing up so we can stand down". We can cultivate the Army's leaders and point them in directions we prefer. Maybe send a bunch of them to Pakistan's war college.
Our affection for Musharaf is visible to all. There's no real historical evidence the US will oppose a friendly dictatorship or royal kingdom. Simply identifying ones self as an enthusistic supporter and participant in the War on Terror is enough to establish bonafides.
Of course the militaty dictatorship could turn on us once in power, but why look that far ahead.
Sherm
Sorry about the UBL/Baathist/CIA handler thing... I was only (partly) kidding.
But about Doug Feith.
This just showed up in my email today from RightWeb:
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)
"JINSA plays a unique role in the pro-Israel lobby. Whereas other more traditional lobbying groups, like the highly influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, focus on influencing congressional figures' votes on legislation critical to U.S. support of Israel, JINSA works on military-to-military ties between the countries and pays special attention to weapons issues—especially missile defense—while maintaining close ties to the military-industrial complex."
"JINSA's board of advisers includes a passel of hawkish and neoconservative foreign policy elites as well as a number of retired military officers, including Anne Bayefsky, Stephen Bryen (whose wife, Shoshana, is a JINSA director), retired Adm. David Jeremiah, Michael Ledeen, former congressman Jack Kemp, former ambassador Max Kampelman, Joshua Muravchik, Richard Perle, James Woolsey, and Kenneth Timmerman. Dick Cheney, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, and the late Jeane Kirkpatrick are past advisers."
If Doug Feith works for State, shouldn't he be registered as an agent of a foreign government, or perhaps he should be... redacted... due to conflict of interest? He has dealings with the Pentagon, with the US Mil-Ind complex, AND the Israeli Mil-Ind complex.
That can't be right (sic).
[In Full]
(lottsa links on page)
It would be interesting to know more about the Belgian company. If you google 'vlemmo site:be' you will find just two references to it, on the whole of the Belgian Internet. I find that unusual. The name suggests 'Flemish' to me...
Personally, i believe OBL died of renal failure several years back.
But his image is sill being used to frighten the American populace into a constant state of fear so they will give King George on open checkbook to wage perpetual war.
To me, aL-Qaada replaced the "Soviet" boogieman that was propped up for 50 years by the US military-industrial complex to justify an ever increasing defense budget.
As many lies as both Bush and Cheney have told, it's a wonder anyone believes anything that comes out of their mouths.
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