Allawi blames massacre on coalition

[likearock 2]

Hey, I thought he was our ally!

Wayne

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1228929.htm

Allawi blames coalition forces for army recruit deaths

The World Today - Wednesday, 27 October , 2004 12:30:00
Reporter: Alison Caldwell
ELEANOR HALL: Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, has blamed what he calls "major neglect by multinational forces" for the deaths of the 49 Iraqi army recruits over the weekend.

Speaking to Iraq's national assembly, Mr Allawi gave no further details but said an investigation into the massacre was due to begin today in Iraq.

Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the ambush, and today this group also claimed responsibility for kidnapping a Japanese man, and threatening to behead him unless the Japanese Government withdraws its troops from Iraq within 48 hours.

Alison Caldwell reports.

ALISON CALDWELL: Iraq's interim government is under increasing pressure to explain the circumstances surrounding the massacre of the 49 army recruits.

Iraqis are demanding to know why the soldiers had no weapons with them and no armed escort when they were stopped at a fake roadblock by gunmen dressed in police uniforms.

An investigation has begun, but the interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, today accused the US-led military of neglecting to protect the recruits.

IYAD ALLAWI (translated): There was an ugly crime in which a large group of national guards were martyred. We believe this issue was the outcome of major neglect by some parts of the multinational forces, and it reflected a determination to harm Iraq and the Iraqi people.

ALISON CALDWELL: Those sentiments were echoed by the country's Vice President, Roj Nouri Shawis. Following a meeting with the US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in Washington, Mr Shawis said there should have been enough forces to protect the recruits.

Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for the killings. Today his group also claimed to have kidnapped a Japanese hostage.

Videotape posted on an Islamic website shows a young Japanese man, identified only as someone connected to the Japanese armed forces. Dressed in a white t-shirt, he speaks in English and Japanese and calls on the Japanese Government to pull its troops out of Iraq.

JAPANESE HOSTAGE: They want to withdraw the Japanese troops from Iraq or cut my head.

ALISON CALDWELL: A masked militant then threatens to behead the hostage if Tokyo doesn't withdraw its forces within 48 hours. The video's authenticity hasn't been independently confirmed, but the Japanese Government says none of its army personnel in Iraq are missing.

The video bears the logo of the group formerly known as Tawhid wal Jihad, which is now believed to be formally aligned with Al Qaeda. Over the weekend, the group's leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi formally declared his allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and renamed his movement as the Iraqi arm of al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda expert Peter Bergin says Zarqawi's new allegiances undermine earlier claims by the Bush administration.

PETER BERGIN: I think what this underlines to me is the fact that Zarqawi has been independent from al-Qaeda for a long time, and if he's finally swearing allegiance to Bin Laden it's relatively late in the game, and this only goes quite contrary to was said by Secretary Powell in the United Nations about Zarqawi's links to al-Qaeda and what the Bush administration has been saying repeatedly, that Zarqawi is the best evidence for the links between al-Qaeda and Iraq.

Clearly those links have only become true in the past week or so. Maybe he's feeling the heat inside Iraq and thinks this is a way to kind of increase his position by bringing out… becoming part of a larger movement.

ELEANOR HALL: Author Peter Bergin, ending that report from Alison Caldwell.

[Gravitymaster 0]

It's a secret plot by Bush to have Allawi blame this on the coalition so it gives the appearance of a split in the solidarity. This will give Bush the justification he needs to go in and take over the oil fields in order to protect the worlds supply of oil. Do not believe this for it is only a distraction so Halliburton can win a no-bid contract and further enrich Bush and his oil buddies.

[rhino 0]

I say we just pull out... Let Allowi and his smart ass handle Iraq...

[quade 4]

Why is this a surprise to anyone?

The US has a LONG history of meddling in the affairs of other countries, supporting new governments only to have them stab us in the back.

As much as we like to think of the US spreading democracy across the globe, the US, time after time, gets screwed in the end.

There simply has to be a better way.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[rhino 0]

Quote

There simply has to be a better way.

It's called the H-BOMB.......












I am kidding of course... lol

[billvon 3,119]

>Hey, I thought he was our ally!

So was Saddam, remember? We have a habit of supporting people until they start getting a taste of power (and the US can put a lot of power behind people) and turn bad.

[jimbarry 0]

Quote

It's a secret plot by Bush to have Allawi blame this on the coalition so it gives the appearance of a split in the solidarity. This will give Bush the justification he needs to go in and take over the oil fields in order to protect the worlds supply of oil. Do not believe this for it is only a distraction so Halliburton can win a no-bid contract and further enrich Bush and his oil buddies.

Sounds cute, but it's probably not that conspiratorial. The US wants to buy Iraqi oil, not steal it militarily, otherwise why didn't the US steal it in '91, '92, '03, '04?

Sounds to me much more likely that in order for Allawi to begin to lead his country and win over the respect of his people (and win the upcoming election), he needs to find reasons to disagree with Bush, blame Bush, regain control of areas/resources from Bush. Show that he's a world leader and is capable of governing. If he just bends to whatever Bush wants at this stage of the game, his people will never follow him.

If the Bush Admin. is smart, they'll let him have these power struggle "wins" so that the place can stablize and we can get the hell out of there.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Ok, so what he's basically complaining about is the fact that a load of soldiers were put on a bus by their commanders then sent across a dangerous country without an escort.

He's right about that - there does need to be some questions asked about why someone did this incredibly dumb act.

I'm sure US soldiers would not be put in the same situation - no weapons - no escort – un-armoured transport. It’s asking for a bloodbath.

Questions need to be asked of the command structure under which these Iraqi's were placed. I can ask this from a position of hand on my heart ignorance - who was in command of these soldiers? Was it the US? Was it Iraq?

Whoever it was has some questions to answer. Sticking unarmed soldiers on an undefended bus in the middle of Iraq isn't a particularly bright idea. It’s not like their commanders are not aware of the likelihood of ambush – it’s happening every day.

If it was the US that allowed these soldiers to be stuck out there on a bus with no hope of defence - I think he's right to be asking the questions he is – regardless of the fact the US is trying to help.

If it was an Iraqi leadership those questions need to be addressed to them.