Chalabi's Star Falls as US Seeks Scapegoat...Lebanon/New WMW

[Gloria]

Full excerpts, links up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR APRIL 30, 2004

Star, Lebanon--CHALABI’S STAR FALLS AS US SEEKS SCAPEGOAT FOR POST-WAR PROBLEMS (…To some extent at least, Chalabi represents pre-war attitudes in Washington; simple certainties about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), Saddam Hussein's links to Al-Qaeda, and the prospects for a stable, democratic, pro-American and pro-Israeli Iraq emerging soon after a US invasion. Brahimi's rise reflects a deepening recognition of more complex realities and greater challenges; a growing sense that the United States must deal with existing circumstances in Iraqi rather than attempting to quickly reshape the country in its own image…Some continue to argue that if only more weight and support had been thrown behind Chalabi, the United States might have avoided many of the travails it now faces in Iraq. This was among the thrusts of a gloomy internal Coalition Provisional Authority memo recently exposed by investigative reporter Jason Vest, who told The Daily Star: "The support shown to Chalabi in the memo sums up the self-deluding quality of those determined to press on with the original administration agenda in the face of clear and recognized evidence of its folly.")



2//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy--COMPANIES NEGOTIATE REMOTE PROFITS (As violence rocked Iraq in Fallujah and Najaf, major international companies gathered in London this week to figure ways of doing business in Iraq without getting their hands burnt. The magic formula was offered at a three-day Iraqi procurement conference held at Hilton hotel in central London from Monday to Wednesday this week…The signal was to set up joint ventures with the visiting Iraqi delegates or to appoint them as local managers for enterprises controlled from the outside by the Western multinationals…For three days it was virtually the whole of the appointed Iraqi government that had come to London. The event itself became an illustration that Western business executives do not need personally to go to Iraq.)



3//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--INDIAN SOLDIERS LURED BY DOLLARS (The first reports about the happening appeared in January. Now it is a phenomenon that has spread across the country, involving possibly thousands of people. In a very discreet operation, US and British security sub-contractors are seeking out Indian ex-servicemen known for their professionalism and discipline for deployment in Iraq…In June last year, the Indian government turned down a US request to send an Indian peacekeeping force to Iraq...The first indication of the transfer of Indian personnel to Iraq was from the south Indian state of Kerala, which is the hub of Indians heading for the Middle East in general as engineers, construction workers and other skilled jobs. The entire process was done without the knowledge of the central government in Delhi, or bodies responsible for the welfare of ex-servicemen.)

4/Gulf News Online, United Arab Emirates--OPINION: PAKISTAN SHOULD TRANSFORM TRIBAL AREAS INTO ECONOMIC ZONES (This week's unexpected truce between the government of General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, and tribal leaders from a remote region bordering Afghanistan, has raised many unanswered questions, notwithstanding the official claims of success…On the one hand, its clear that though the military repeatedly claimed that it was prepared to escalate pressure to wipe out militants from the border region, in the end the generals adopted reconciliation. This makes it clear that a military campaign pursued so fondly could not deliver the end result…Following the weekend truce, the Pakistani government, at best, has only won space for itself to devise a new strategy.)

5//The Globe and Mail, Canada--PM OUTLINES FOREIGN POLICY WITH BIG ROLE FOR LEADERS (World leaders must not be afraid to bypass multilateral institutions when faced with crises, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday…“Only political leaders can make the leap so often required to break an intellectual, emotional or historical impasse. Photo ops are no substitute for political will,” he added at the Center for Global Development and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars…The proposal suggests that Mr. Martin's thinking has edged closer to the policy of U.S. President George W. Bush, who assembled a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq when the United Nations balked.)



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[Liberal_Dog]

1. Chalabi Has Outlived His Usefulness...

and he will quickly be discarded.

[Joanne98]

2. This is interesting

that Mr. Martin's thinking has edged closer to the policy of U.S. President George W. Bush, who assembled a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq when the United Nations balked.)

I think Paul Martin is a fake liberal. He's too cozy with big business.

[Gloria]

4. Re: Martin....that's been my feeling as I listen to CBC and

Radio Canada International programs. No surprise either, since he's a mogul himself....

[DivinBreuvage]

3. Well, if you can't trust a thief and an embezzler...

who CAN you trust?

Lighten up, gang. Asking Republicans not to take Chalabi's word for something is like asking Carrot Top to ignore comedic advice from Gallagher.

[central scrutinizer]

5. Jesus H Fucking Christ on a Harley

One year and 700 dead GIs later and we are back at square one. Actually square one would be a huge improvement over where we actually are. God damn it!!!!