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| Iraq |
| Politicians Fed Up with "Unnecessary Searches" by US Troops |
| 2007-04-04 |
| Although the original title suggests it is all Iraqis - except, possibly, the "Iraq, The Model" blogger. Government officials and lawmakers say they are fed up with what they feel are unnecessary searches by American troops and private security contractors in the Green Zone and persuaded President Jalal Talabani to take action, his office said Tuesday. The president, a Kurd, set up a committee to develop new security rules and then meet with U.S. officials to agree on a new relationship between American-led coalition forces and all Iraqis, not just government officials and lawmakers. The statement gave no other details, but Shiite legislator, Bassem Sharif, who attended the session at which the committee was established, said politicians complained bitterly about being searched every time they went into the parliament or Cabinet building. We're special, just like the US Congress! Only Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani are not searched under current practice. An example of some complaints included a recent incident in which the U.S. military closed the Baghdad airport and wouldn't allow Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi's plane to land on a return trip from Turkey. He was forced to fly back to Ankara and spend the night. Another incident involved the son of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the largest bloc in parliament, who was taken into U.S. custody for 12 hours in February after crossing from Iran with bodyguards, Sharif said. After his release, Ammar al-Hakim asked, "Is this the way to deal with a national figure? This does not conform with Iraq's sovereignty." The new committee includes Abdul-Mahdi and the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs, defense and the national security adviser, the statement said. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #14 Mandatory deep cavity searches for all Iraqi pols. Make them look back upon checkpoint stops with fond memories. These sniveling terrorist elites can all suck hind tit. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-04 22:31 |
| #13 D ***ng it, Amer DemoLefties want ordinary Iraqis wid little to no tradition of Western democracy to stand up and defend democracy, to take charge of their own country. AMER DID NOT OPENLY PUBLICLY DEBATE OUR PRE-INVASION = ANTI-INVASION = POST-INVASION "EXIT STRATEGERY" - EEEERRRRR. MEANT "REDEPLOYMENT BACK TO AMERICA" -IFF WE WANTED RADICAL ISLAM TO WIN". LEST WE FERGIT, DEM CONGRESS > AMER IS ABSOLUTELY UNDENIABLY CATEGORICALLY UNDOUBTEDLY, etal. "ATTACKATREATING" IN IRAQ-ME. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-04-04 21:35 |
| #12 Only Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani are not searched under current practice. Hell, search them too! Glenmore, excellent point. I've always felt folks that are expected to get preferential treatment would be the most dangerous as yes they could bring in something, being coerced to do so. |
| Posted by: Jan from work 2007-04-04 12:53 |
| #11 As soon as they stop 'unnecessary searches', some little exploding weasel is going to slip thru that security hole. As an aside, in #8 was ed defaming male prostitutes? Yeah, it's a creepy profession, but it seems more honorable than Democratic Party activist. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-04-04 12:20 |
| #10 darth sounds like you hit it right on the nose too me. |
| Posted by: sinse 2007-04-04 11:54 |
| #9 ed improves the whole day, ouch! |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2007-04-04 11:10 |
| #8 Pliny, math or law isn't your strong suit. Have you considered a career path more suited to your talents, like Democratic Party activist or male prostitute? |
| Posted by: ed 2007-04-04 10:53 |
| #7 "So his son should get the privileges of an office he wasn't elected to?" Sounds like George W. to me. |
| Posted by: Pliny Cleager9233 2007-04-04 10:33 |
| #6 Another incident involved the son of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the largest bloc in parliament, who was taken into U.S. custody for 12 hours in February after crossing from Iran with bodyguards, Sharif said. So his son should get the privileges of an office he wasn't elected to? I don't think so, Sparky. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2007-04-04 10:14 |
| #5 Didn't one of the vice presidents nearly get waxed by one of his own munchkins whom he got bounced out of stir a few weeks prior? Didn't this happen last week? What, do they think we don't read the papers? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2007-04-04 09:38 |
| #4 The politicians don't like it, they can live outside the green zone. Otherwise, SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU WHINING WASTES OF OXYGEN!!! (Can anyone else tell I'm sick of bottom feeders?) |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-04-04 08:59 |
| #3 What a coincidence. Only 2 days ago: Suicide vests found in Baghdad's Green Zone Verlaine comments: The key problem seems to be the Iraqi security elements attached to Iraqi politicians and officials. I recall the first scare of this kind (public) last year, and it was connected to an Iraqi bodyguard unit. But I really don't know a lot of the details, naturally. So their bodyguards bring in the explosives and co-conspirators go all explode-a-matic, giving credible deniability. Their meetings with the Quds Force agents must have been productive. As for the plane, what would these same ministers scream if it were given landing permission during a SAM alert and then blown out of the sky? Typical muslim damned the infidel if you do, damned if you don't. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-04-04 08:11 |
| #2 "politicians complained bitterly about being searched " Are they really that confident that all the OTHER politicians are not psycho? Or that NO other politician's family could ever be held hostage to induce him to smuggle in a bomb or explode himself to save them? Same question I have about why Muslims would complain about being 'profiled' and searched getting on airplanes - do THEY trust all the other young Muslim men who might get on the plane? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-04-04 08:06 |
| #1 From my feeble perspective: Maybe lighten up a bit on the high level government figures, but they still need to be checked given the terrorist tendency to wreak havoc by blending in and taking advantage of the society's customs. Without knowing anything about the situation, stopping that plane from landing sounds like they're trying to generate ill will. At least be able to give a reasonable explanation and an apology. Besides, even Al Gore has to deal with the same crap here thanks to terrorists. And I'm sorry, unless that trip by al-Hakim's son was official business, I say search and debrief him. What sort of legitimate business might he have in Iran that is so important? Again they head right back to the "it's who you know" mentality. And even if they do relax the rules, why not reserve the right to search the crap out of them about a quarter of the time or if there is reasonable cause? Guaranteed to make someone think twice before doing something they shouldn't; and if even one soldier dies or gets injured because of something connected to a relaxation in the rules, the hammer comes down again, so they better police the people they grant any special privilges to in order to satisfy their egos. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-04 06:40 |