The Future of Iraq
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
- Office of Reconstruction
and Humanitarian Assistance A press briefing by DoD official, March 11, 2002. This office, to
be led by retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, is the Pentagon's plan for transitioning from military
to a "civilian" administration. Now led by L. Paul Bremer, the Administrator of
the Coalition Provisional Authority (see next). Watch out!
- Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Web Site of
the Iraqi provisional authority (Sulta al-I'tilaf al-Mu'aqqata), which is
essentially the occupation headquarters.
- Business Solicitations by CPA
Wanna make some money? Have some extra turbines, office equipment, guns, SUVs,
or ear plugs for sale? Forget eBay! Just fill out one of these forms and submit
to appropriate addressee.
- Map of Iraq by Religion
- The Iraqi Governing Council
A list of names (and short bios) of the Iraqis who were appointed by and answer to the CPA. Supposedly, some of
these people might someday run Iraq. Two of the 25 have since been assassinated, including the IGC
rotating leader (9/20/03 & 5/17/04).
In another incident, American forces mistakenly fired on car carrying one of
the 25, injuring his driver (11/13/03).
- "Iraq
and the Arabs' Future" by Fouad Ajami, in Foreign Affairs, Jan./Feb. 2003 (Available for purchase)
- Iraqi Opposition Movements Links
to various groups
- Iraqi National Congress Ahmed Chalabi's group; the
early favorite of the Bush administration's Pentagon (Wolfowitz is a personal friend); hasn't been in Iraq
since 1956; flown into Nasiriyah April 7, 2003 by the Pentagon (along with the self-designated
"1st Battalion Free Iraqi Forces" -- a force of 700 men trained by the DoD)
- Iraqi National Accord INA is the
organization led by Dr. Iyad Allawi, the designated new Prime Minister of Iraq
- The Iraqi National Front If their web site is
any indication, they'll not be a major player
- The Iraq Foundation Kanan Makiya's group,
Iraqi ex-patriot eggheads; linked with Chalabi's INC;
probably won't play a big part
- Shicas
- The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq A Shi'ite
group, based in Iran, led by Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, who has called for open opposition
to American-led efforts at interim administration
- Al-Da'wa Another Shi'ite group (web site in Arabic); may have been
behind al-Khoei's murder; supporters of the martyred cleric Muhammad Baqir
al-Sadr (killed by Saddam Hussein in 1980)
- Moqtada al-Sadr brief BBC bio. Son of murdered
Shi'ite cleric Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, and loosely related to the al-Da'wa
movement, he is the head of Hawza'i Shi'ites. On April 4, 2004, he was declared a "criminal" by US occupation forces
- Al-Khoei Foundation Arabic website of the
organization founded by Abdul Majid al-Khoei (murdered April 10, 2003 in Najaf),
son of Ayatollah al-Khoei, who led Shi'a rebellion against Saddam in 1991. The murder
of Abdul Majid al-Khoei is a major setback for US plans to control southern Iraq.
- Sistani.org English version
of Grand Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani's web site; emerging as most important Shi'ite leader
- Kurds
- "British
Appointed Basra Chief Exposed as Former Ba'athist" Oops! From The Guardian, April 12, 2003
- Saddam Captured
From The Guardian, Dec. 15, 2003
- The Zarqawi Letter
Translation (released Feb. 2004 by CPA) of "intercepted" letter by Jordanian-born Islamic radical Abu Musab
al-Zarkawi, on creating Sunni-Shi'i civil war in Iraq. US claims al-Zarqawi is
an al-Qa'ida "affiliate"; other western intelligence sources have him a competitor of
UBL.
- Iraqi Interim Constitution
signed March 8, 2004, after a 3-day delay instigated by Shi'ite delegates (even Chalabi!)
at the insistence of Grand Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani
- The U.S. and
Iraq's Shi'ite Clergy: Partners or Adversaries? A Feb. 2004 report from the Strategic
Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, by their ME expert, Andrew
Terrill (requires Adobe Reader)
The Taguba Report Maj. Gen.
Antonio Taguba's report on prison abuse at Abu Ghraib prison
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