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Thursday, May 22, 2003

Bryan Preston of JunkyardBlog has some interesting thoughts about Salam Pax in National Review. More food for thought. Sounds pretty on-target to me.

Bryan Preston on Salam Pax on National Review Online

[...]Since Salam resurfaced after the war, his posts have generated even more speculation and intrigue. In one of the entries he angrily denounced the Iraqi National Congress for appropriating the elite Iraqi Hunting Club and Mansour Social Club, wondering where he and other members would go for indoor swimming. Members of both clubs are Baathists by definition, but would a spy openly flout that? If it is an attempt to garner sympathy for the deposed Baath regime or its spoiled children, it's a flop. He says both on his blog and in an Austrian interview that he is working for a group called Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, or CIVIC. This isn't volunteer work — Salam says he and others are paid for traveling around Iraq to assess civilian casualties from the war that freed his country. Who is paying them? And the organization itself appears shady. It isn't on any U.N. list of known nongovernmental organizations operating in Iraq, and its goal seems to be tallying up the civilian dead as a way to shame America (CIVIC is doing nothing to account for the thousands that Saddam had executed over the years). He mentions the formation of Hezbollah cells in Iraq, labeling them "anti-Iranian." That's simply a lie. Hezbollah is now operating in Iraq, but very much at Iran's behest. Salam continues to deride every American effort to re-establish order, and denigrates the exiles that have returned to try and transform Iraq into a democracy. He praises the local Communists, who did nothing to liberate Iraq, while denouncing just about anyone who did help in the liberation.[...]

6 Comments

First let me say what a shockingly stylish blog you have here! :-) I might disagree with Bryan's assessment of whether or not Salam is a "trustworthy witness to history" (history is like Rashomon) but his analysis of the plucky Baghdadi's biases is certainly a very thorough and discerning one.

First let me say what a shockingly stylish blog you have here! :-) I might disagree with Bryan's assessment of whether or not Salam is a "trustworthy witness to history" (history is like Rashomon) but his analysis of the plucky Baghdadi's biases is certainly a very thorough and discerning one.

First let me say what a shockingly stylish blog you have here! :-) I might disagree with Bryan's assessment of whether or not Salam is a "trustworthy witness to history" (history is like Rashomon) but his analysis of the plucky Baghdadi's biases is certainly a very thorough and discerning one.

You liked it so much you said it three times! Heheheh.

Welcome.

'Salam continues to deride every American effort to re-establish order, and denigrates the exiles that have returned to try and transform Iraq into a democracy.'
Please remember that democracy is something that has to grow ... Consider the democracy in Europe: it has taken several centuries to establish the kind of democracy we have today. But tell me how much is a democracy worth when the leaders of America are those who have the most money to do their campaign. Their are sponsered by huge companies... Do you really think they give their money for free ... they want something in return for their gifts ... so in the end do you really think your president is reflecting the demand of his people or does he reflect the demand of the few very welthy people ??? Maybe he is misusing your feelings of fear for another hidden agenda ... money money money ... So when America is the country where money rules are they really the ones who have to give lectures in democracy ... And please don't get me wrong I 'am not anti - american ... I even love your country ... so please react in agruments ... Peace to the world

You're hardly the first person to indicate that money plays a role in American politics, but you're clearly amongst those who have a tendency to over-state the impact.

I find that Europe is a far more class-minded place than the US. As such, they have a tendency to speak about "business interests" as far more of an independent entity than it is. Business, like the government in America is "us."

Why should I care if businesses pursue their political interests? I'm a businessman myself.

You seem to be implying the canard that Bush over-stated the Iraq threat in order to invade to satisfy money interests.

Sorry, there are plenty of other reasons offered which have convinced me and many others that have nothing to do with cash. If the question of invasion were simply one of dollars and cents, it was a very silly invasion indeed. It's simply an insult on George Bush and many other people around him to insinuate such things, and I don't buy it.

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