More on Bringing Democracy to Iraq

by soccerdad

The background of Allawi has been discussed here often. To understand the “democratic” process in Iraq, its time to learn about another Iraqi official, Brig. Gen. Muhammad Abdullah Shahwani who is the head of Iraqi secret police.

Shahwani is an old-time Baath officer. In 1990 he broke with Saddam, who is said to have killed three of Shahwani's children in revenge. Shahwani came out of Iraq and to join US efforts to overthrow the dictator. This summer, he was appointed head of the Mukhabarat or Iraqi secret police, which the US Central Intelligence Agency is rebuilding with $3 billion. Shahwani is alleged to be a long-time CIA asset who is being groomed as a replacement for caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi should the latter be assassinated. Prof. Juan Cole

On Friday, Prof. Juan Cole reported that Shahwani arrested 27 employees of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad for espionage and sabotage. Shahwani also claims that the the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its militia, the Badr Corps, served as Iranian agents in helping with the assassinations of members of the secret police. The SCIRI is a Shiite group and was formed in Iran in 1982 by Iraqi exiles. The SCIRI has vigourously denied these charges and accuse Shahwani and other neo-Baath members of Allawi government of trying to discredit those Iraqis who opposed Saddam from Iran.

Juan Cole has this take:

Shahwani's allegations are disturbing, coming when they do, because they may be an attempt to damage SCIRI's prospects in the January elections. If the secret police are manipulating documents to tie a major Iraqi party to foreign intrigue and domestic assassination, this move would bode badly for Iraq's development as a democracy.

It is of interest to understand the nature of the government presently in place in Iraq. Allawi is an ex-Baathist who was a CIA operative who led car bombing attacks in Iraq in an attempt to overthrow Saddam. Shahwani is reported by some to have worked with Allawi in an attempt to overthrow Saddam. Other ex-Baathists with prominate positions include Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib and Defense Minister Hazim Shaalan. Allawihas tried to do away with the Commission for deBaathification headed by Chalabi. Link

This is problamatic for a couple of reasons. First, having deposing Saddam what have we gained by replacing him with people just like him in both ethnicity and tactics. Most ex-Baathists are Sunni and a crack down on the Shiite SCIRI, which is also close to Sistani, could provoke problems between the two groups.

Also, Falah al-Naqib and Shahwani are being investigated by Judge Zuhair al-Maliky their harassment of members of the Hizbullah Movement of Iraq headed by Hassan al-Sari in Baghdad. ( Note: Hizbullah Movement of Iraq is not related to the group in Lebonon of the same name).

Critics have also charged:

Despite earlier promises that no one in Iraq would be arrested without due process, Shahwani’s critics say he is using ex-criminals to round up suspects and hold them without charge in secret prisons.

“On the day the National Assembly was appointed three members were arrested, along with another 57 others, all this on the orders of Shahwani,” one prominent Iraqi visitor told Deccan Herald on condition he was not quoted by name.

“When we heard of this we approached Prime Minister Allawi and they managed to get one man released. All the others remain under arrest.

“Shahwani only responds to the orders of the Americans, he was forced on Allawi. That’s why this is occupation, you can draw your conclusions.” Link

Now in order to insure that the elections in Iraq turn out the way you want them to, its very important to control the press. The fact that this may be un-democratic is of less concern. Allawi has set up a new agency called The Higher Media Council which his run by, naturally, a close friend of Allawi.

Established in August, the council is in the regressive process of emulating Saddam Hussein's Ministry of Information. The council has moved into the building of the ministry, re-employed some of its staff and is now threatening to license newspapers, impose requirements for publication that few existing news organizations can meet and punish unsubstantiated criticism of the government. This article has many more details

Leaving nothing to chance, it is always important to interfere directly to insure that your stooges are elected. Time Magazine reported that

the Bush administration had had a plan to use the Central Intelligence Agency to funnel money to candidates it favored in the forthcoming Iraqi elections. The rationale given was that Iran was bankrolling its own candidates.

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Apparently House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi derailed this plan. Bush and the CIA said they would not interfere. I believe them, don’t you (/sarcasm)? So the new Bush plan is to give strategic advice, training and polling data to what it deems as "moderate and democratic" Iraqi political parties with candidates running in the country's upcoming elections. Global Policy Forum. What does moderate and democratic mean? You can put a dress on a pig, but you still have a pig.

So the bottom line is that Bush will work to insure that the election turns out the way he wants. The stooges that get elected will then allow the US to stay, build its 12 enduring bases so that the Bush doctrine can be implemented. This will then allow the multi-nationals to come to Iraq and reconstruct the oil infrastructure thereby insuring the flow of cheap crude oil to the US. This is Bush’s idea of democracy but it isn’t mine.