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Iraq-Jordan
Secular or Islamofascist Iraq?: Pretenders Profiled
2005-02-18
In his leftist blog, Juan Cole - a US scholar who lived in the Middle East for 6 years - profiles some of the elected leaders of Iraq. He also translates an article in which the likely President of Iraq- Jaafari - is shown to have clear Islamofascist connections. According to the writer, al-Jaafari wants al-Sadr' terrorists to participate in both the government, and in the new army. What if he is creating Basiji' storm troopers, as operated by the tyrants who misrule his former place of exile: Iran?

Al-Hayat 17 Feb 2005
Al-Sadr Supports Al-Jaafari

Amer al-Husseini, a leader of al-Sadr's Current in Baghdad, told Al-Hayat that the Current "supports the designation of Ibrahim al-Jaafari to the post of Prime minister of the Iraqi government resulting from the elected National Assembly." He added that al-Jaafari's presence at the head of the new cabinet would be "a positive beginning for a better stage in Iraq." Al-Husseini revealed that contacts were being held between the Coalition [the Unified Iraqi Coalition, backed by al-Sistani and the winner of the majority of seats in the Assembly] and the leadership of al-Sadr's Current in al-Najaf. He did not exclude the participation of the Current in the new government.

Al-Hayat has also learned that the Bureau of the Highest Shia Authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the leader of the Iraqi National Council Ahmad al-Chalabi try to normalize relations between "Al-Badr Organization" which is lead by the "Supreme Council" [of Islamic revolution in Iraq, al-Hakim's movement] and the leadership of "Al-Mahdi Army," the military wing of al-Sadr's Current, in light of the tensions that dominated the relation between the two groups during the bloody events at al-Najaf some months ago.

The New Army

Al-Hayat has also learned that a security plan, which was mentioned earlier for the case where the Coalition would lead the new government, foresees the integration of large numbers of "Al-Badr" and "Al-Mahdi Army," as well as the militias of Hizbullah and Al-Dawa, in the ranks of the new Iraqi army.
Houston: we have a problem. Or maybe an opportunity to think of one-button solutions. Oops! Knee-jerk Watch!
Posted by:IToldYouSo

#25  .com posts comments based on his vast life experience in a certain sandy, oil-soaked part of the world that ITSY refers to as the Jazeera, for some reason. He's been doing this at Rantburg for some years now, and has earnt his seniority.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-02-18 10:54:29 PM  

#24  You better watch out, Mr I told you so, or Ima gonna whack you upside the head with a big ol' golden apple of discord!
Posted by: Eris   2005-02-18 10:46:22 PM  

#23  ITYS, there is a great article over at Sci American about how self esteem is really just self delusion. I recommend you read it.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-02-18 9:53:41 PM  

#22  hmmmmmmm surprising that we are on opposite side of the rating system you established. Americans at RB are on to you Canuck troll
Posted by: Frank G   2005-02-18 9:48:58 PM  

#21  Personal attacks are a waste of time, because probably 99% of people who come to Rantburg pay no attention to them. However, .com is 100% responsible for the decline of civility here. That Bill O'Reilly worshipper doesn't even read internet news sources, so he never posts anything here. Rating his contribution, on a ten-point either-way scale, with zero being absolutely worthless, I would give his spew as -9. As for my own contribution: +10.
Posted by: IToldYouSo   2005-02-18 9:46:16 PM  

#20  I'll point out to you that it's a Friday in February Hagbard, thus it is a Fnord zone until first light in Guam.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-02-18 7:40:05 PM  

#19  This is a no fnord zone.
Posted by: Hagbard Celine   2005-02-18 6:55:06 PM  

#18  fnord mood
Posted by: Shipman   2005-02-18 6:00:40 PM  

#17  Thanks Frank G

Well, anti-moby, generally personal attacks are allowed if someone prove himself to be a troll. ITYS seems to be baiting people simply to get a reaction or even worse misrepresenting himself as an ultra-hawk in order to push a dovish agenda or discredit the site, either of which make him a troll in the eyes of about 90% of the regulars.

Otherwise, people do get in fights here and generally apologize afterward. Not just a problem here but everywhere on the Internet. If Fred banned everyone who had a tiff, there'd probably be about six regulars still posting.
Posted by: 11A5S   2005-02-18 4:28:43 PM  

#16  My read is that Cole's rationale is to wrap anti-Israel/America rhetoric in academic garb. That kind of "scholarship" is learned ignorance, at best.

I see a lot of personal attacks here. Aren't there rules against that?
Posted by: anti-moby   2005-02-18 4:06:08 PM  

#15  Jusles, lunacy. (anti-semitism is the main component, but not the only one).
Posted by: Sobiesky   2005-02-18 2:17:27 PM  

#14  I came into rantburg after Boris left, I think. What's his deal?
Posted by: Jules 187   2005-02-18 2:12:44 PM  

#13  Boris from Simi Valley - ITYS is Canuckistan
Posted by: Frank G   2005-02-18 2:07:44 PM  

#12  I think that itys is Boris on his meds.
Posted by: 11A5S   2005-02-18 1:42:40 PM  

#11  hey, if I announce that I support Jafari will Juan "I speak Arabic" Cole explain that Jafari is supported by Zionists?

Interesting article in todays WaPo, by Robert Kagan.

Back during the cold war we were CONSTANTLY told by the left that NOT every communist was pro-Moscow or pro-Cuba, that nationalism trumped communist fellow feeling, and detailed analysis was made of subtle ideological distinctions - knee jerk assumption that any commie, or anyone who had received support from USSR or Cuba was ergo a stooge of them, was the property of the right. Sometimes this subtelty was correct - sometimes it wasnt. Whats interesting is that NOW the left seems insistent on a Shia is a Shia is a Shia. Sistani is probably further ideologically from Khomeinism than Mao was from Soviet Communism. and yes Dawa and SCIRI received support from Iran - Mao received support from the USSR, and North Viet Nam received support from China. Didnt stop VN and China from having a little war, now did it.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2005-02-18 1:21:58 PM  

#10  Juan Cole - a US scholar who lived in the Middle East for 6 years

i hear he speaks arabic, too ;)
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2005-02-18 1:15:22 PM  

#9  lovely - can you do the ban now, Fred?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-02-18 1:08:37 PM  

#8  Grumpy old men at work: finger pointing, jumping into conclusion quagmires, and impersonating Dr Phil' tunnel moralism. I order you to cease and desist. Check out the profile of Peoples-Choice-Jaafari, on the Iraq entity's website,
http://www.iraqigovernment.org/preoffice.htm

I order you to check out leftist, Angry Arab's (AKA: PBS creep, As'ad abu-Khalil) pro-Hizbollah gas-baggery on the Hariri assassination.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Remember to prevent appeasement Vice and to promote one-button Virtue. SAY DOOM!

Edward Yee: according to sources, you are a Kos infiltrator at Rantburg, and here with the purpose of promoting appeasement spin-consumption.
Posted by: IToldYouSo   2005-02-18 1:05:29 PM  

#7  This is excellent news! Juan Cole's track record has been so abysmal on Iraq that I'm willing to bet AGAINST ANY PREDICTION HE MAKES.

The only reason he gets any press is because his postmodern, anti-American cant is letter-perfect. If he had to compete on accuracy, he'd be living out of dumpsters in Detroit.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-02-18 12:02:59 PM  

#6  replace all virtual divots
Posted by: Frank G   2005-02-18 11:58:34 AM  

#5  Nice back-swing Pappy, the new grip seems to help.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-02-18 11:48:42 AM  

#4  Oops! Knee-jerk Watch!

Leave out the 'knee' and it'd be accurate.
Posted by: Pappy   2005-02-18 11:27:09 AM  

#3  Note that Cole, like his leftist brethren, has never met an anti-American foreigner he doesn't like (except for maybe bin Laden and Mullah Omar).

When pressed, I am sure they could enlarge their circle of love to even embrace those two. Enlarging it to include us and Bush is definitely NOT on their agenda.

Posted by: Ptah   2005-02-18 10:55:50 AM  

#2  Odds are that anyone Juan Cole dislikes is going to cooperate with Uncle Sam. Note that Cole, like his leftist brethren, has never met an anti-American foreigner he doesn't like (except for maybe bin Laden and Mullah Omar).
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-02-18 10:06:37 AM  

#1  Likely? I have my doubts - #1, Ahmed Chalabi's survived so much political upheaval, who's to say he won't pull through? And just because this figure says that al-Sadr supports Jafaari means nothing; I'd be far more concerned if al-Sistani started making noises to that effect.

P.S. Someone else unload on IToldYouSo for trolling, impersonating a conservative/Jacksonian/neocon and using Juan Cole as a source on anything. :-P
Posted by: Edward Yee   2005-02-18 8:48:45 AM  

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