Death threats plague Saddam's trial planner

[dArKeR]

Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's trial may be many months away but the frustrated man co-ordinating it already faces death threats, even from Iraqis who hated the dictator.

"Oddly enough I have been threatened by victims' families. They think I am being way too careful about protecting the defendant's rights. They think I should just stand up and kill Saddam Hussein," Salem Chalabi told reporters in an interview.

"I actually move around in a very convoluted way. I am in the Green Zone now. I am living in a family house."

The heavily fortified Green Zone houses the US-led coalition headquarters in Baghdad.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=qw1075641844942B262&set_id=1

[burythehatchet]

1. Chalabi....

any relation?

[pfitz59]

8. Chalabi is a tribal name......

Just like Saddam Hussein is actually Tikriti, Saddam Hussein al Tikriti! The Chalabi's ran the Iraqi oil ministry until the Baathist Party overthrow in late 50's! Chalabi clan is itching for revenge.

[daleo]

2. Salem Chalabi?

Ok, maybe Chalabi is a common name in Iraq, but this is one of those things that makes you go hmmm. After reading the article a bit more, I see:

"Preparing the case against Saddam will be a daunting task for Chalabi, a US-educated Iraqi lawyer and nephew of Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi. He believes a fair trial will be key to delivering democracy."
...
"Chalabi said some of them had suggested to third parties that they would be willing to hand over information on Saddam's alleged crimes in return for more lenient sentences."

Lots more in the article. I can't say it gives me a lot of faith in the process.

[Zhade]

3. It's Ahmed Chalabi's nephew.

From http://www.corpwatch.org/news/PND.jsp?articleid=8708

Washington - The former law partner of the Defense Department's architect of Iraq's post-war planning has teamed up with the nephew of Ahmed Chalabi, a Pentagon-anointed leader in the country, to profit from the multibillion-dollar rebuilding of the war-ravaged nation.

L. Marc Zell, a Jerusalem-based attorney, is the former partner of Douglas Feith, the Pentagon undersecretary who was a major force behind the push for war.

Chalabi's nephew, Salem Chalabi, has set up a law firm in Baghdad and has boasted of daily contact with his uncle, who has emerged as a powerful figure in the new Iraqi interim government. Chalabi is a favorite of Pentagon hawks, including Feith, who pushed for Hussein's overthrow.

In an interview, Zell said Salem Chalabi owns the Baghdad law firm, while Zell helped create the idea and is marketing the firm to U.S. and other clients. Zell said his previous 15-year partnership with Feith, and Salem Chalabi's family ties, are separate from the work the pair is doing in Iraq.

Gee, fix wouldn't be in, would it? Wouldn't want to keep any secrets from getting out, would they?

:mad:

[daleo]

4. And Feith and Chalabi are both PNAC

Nice.

[starroute]

7. Googling "Marc Zell" is a fascinating exercise

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002007.html

"Now, Salem just got his website up online. And he seems to have gotten some help because up until a couple days ago the site address was registered under the name of Marc Zell. Right, that Marc Zell, Feith's former law partner. And the help continues. According to Chalabi, Zell is working as the firm's "marketing consultant." In fact, at the bottom of the IILG website in the 'contact' section it lists the "Partner for International Marketing" as someone with the email address '[e-mail]'. And I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that that's an email address for Marc Zell. Call me crazy."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1057562,00.html

"An ultra-Zionist Israeli settler has joined forces with the nephew of the Iraqi leader Ahmad Chalabi to promote investment in Iraq.

<snip>

"American-born Mr Zell, 50, became interested in Zionism in the mid-1980s and made several trips to Israel - one of them sponsored by the Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful) movement, which claims the territories occupied in 1967 were given to Israel by God.

"In 1988, at the start of the first Palestinian uprising, Mr Zell moved with his family to the Jewish settlement of Alon Shevut on the West Bank, acquiring Israeli nationality.

<snip>

"In the 1996 Israeli election Mr Zell campaigned for the rightwing Binyamin Netanyahu and was also at one time a member of the Likud party's central committee and policy bureau."


http://www.homemaker.org/kislev_57/cover.html

"By 1988, the Zells had become both orthodox and Zionistic. And despite strong parental objections, they made Aliyah and settled in Alon Shvut, a Yishuv forty-five miles southeast of Jerusalem. At the time, the Intifadah had just started but even then their new neighbors welcomed the Zells with cakes and greetings of 'Kol Hakavod!' The Zells agree that Alon Shvut is an ideal place for children. 'It's like a small town in Iowa.' The Gush Etzion regional swimming pool, Yeshivas, and community center, and quiet roads all add to the quality of life. However, Robin admits, that her youngsters have been exposed to a lot: The Gulf War, rock-throwing, shootings and the loss of many dear friends to terrorism. A barbed-wire fence surrounds the Yishuv; there is only one gate in or out.

"'We get used to things real fast,' she notes. During the Gulf War, there was even an art project for the kids?'Decorate your gas mask box.'"


And much, much more.

[Must_B_Free]

5. maybe it's really Salem Bin Laden under deep cover?

[leftchick]

6. Gee, Salem.... do you supose they are giving you death threats because

You work for the USA you fucking dope!?! :eyes: