Pentagon fires Iraqi Gen Saleh , replaces with London Exile General

[Pallas180]

http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/256517|top|05-03-2004::12:52|reuters.html

-snip-

NEW MAN IN FALLUJA

Unlike his predecessor, Latif appears to have anti-Saddam credentials, U.S. military and Iraqi officials said.

Latif, an intelligence officer, trained in Britain, was exiled and may also have spent time in prison, a U.S. military source said.

He was among a number of generals recently recalled by the new Iraqi defense ministry to try to re-form the army as a whole.

But unlike Saleh who is a local man, Latif hails from Baghdad, 50 km (30 miles) to the east, which may not endear him so easily to local people.

"I doubt the people of Falluja will cooperate with the new commander because we know nothing about him," local man Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. "He was appointed by the Americans and the (Iraqi) Governing Council...This step was not thought through."

more....

[Skidmore]

1. Is anyone else getting whiplash

from all these hirings and firings and replacements? A fig leaf is a fig leaf.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Did Ahmed Chalabi suggest him?

The people in Fallujah seemed happy enough when Saleh arrived.

If Abdul Aziz Mohammed is typical, the Fallujahans won't be happy with Latif. The flip-flop doesn't bode well, either.

[Just Me]

3. Yeah. My first thought was "is he with INC, too?" n/t

[daleo]

4. That didn't take long

What a bunch of goofs - like an London based exile is going to have a molecule of credibility, especially after the prisoner torture photos came out.

on edit - the link doesn't work for me.

[ninkasi]

5. Here is one of the problems

"This step was not thought through." It is painfully obvious to all of us that very little about this invasion was thought about enough. The PNAC group knew what it wanted, and tried to go in and take over without bothering about any of the details.

They refused to listen to anyone unless they were telling them what they wanted to hear. Chimp truly is the very worst president ever. There isn't anybody even close to him in incompetence, greed, arrogance, and evil.

[mitchtv]

6. como se dice 'frag' in Arabic?

I predict a short career.

[webtrainer]

7. I've stopped wondering . . .

how they can possibly screw this situation up any more . . . I'd rather visualize the infinity of space or something more appealing . . . I feel sorry for the Iraqis and the Americans over there.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. The words ". . .Saleh, who is a local man. . ." speaks volumes

out there in Fallujah.

Tribal ties and all that.

It all boils down to: TRIBES.


:evilfrown:

[nolabels]

13. A little more background on the "Tribes"

http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=4487
http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1903

The Americans Gave Us the Will To Fight, Says Tribal Leader
by Firas al-Atraqchi, Yellow Times.org
April 27th, 2004

CAIRO (NFTF.org) -- An Iraqi tribal leader who was closely involved in the U.S.-Iraqi negotiations has accused the U.S. military of feigning negotiations and diplomacy while they gathered ground intelligence to mount an attack on the besieged city of Fallujah.
(snip)
(snip)
U.S. forces have claimed that no heavy weapons had been surrendered to local Fallujah police. Iraqi councilors in Fallujah, however, said that weapons were being turned in but that the city's resistance fighters were not convinced that U.S. intentions could be trusted and stopped the weapons turnover on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Jaber Ali, a former aide to the Iraq Governing Council, accused U.S. forces of breaching the ceasefire in Fallujah and thereby committing "an unprecedent blunder."

"Do they (U.S. military) really think they took Iraq in three weeks?" he asked an Arab TV news reporter. "No, they didn't, the Iraqi army did not want to defend a corrupt regime -- Saddam's bloody regime. But what you see now all over Iraq, fighting with guns and RPGs against their tanks, and many U.S. soldiers are dying and being wounded. This is the real war, I swear to you if we were fighting for Iraq and not Saddam, the U.S. soldiers would still be trying to take Oum Qasr," he said.

"The Americans gave us the will to fight when they showed us how barbaric they were. Fallujah does not deserve this barbarity. Where is the world community? Where is the Arab League? A thousand damnations on them. We will fight and we will die, alone if need be. This is the beginning of the end for the Americans and Israelis here ," he claimed.
(snip)

Who said something about upsetting a hornets nest while stuck in a quagmire?

edited for software format

[Just Me]

15. Those are powerful and potent words.

The Busholinis had freakin' better read the sign: "GET OUT!!!"

But, of course,...they won't. They will stay the g-damn PNAC course.

The Bush regime MUST be removed before their greedy, arrogant policies kill us all!!!

:argh:

[nolabels]

21. Something the people that served in other places might want to notice

A lot of these natives in Iraq are somewhat privy to the western ways. I also would guess Saddam used a lot of the tricks the US military seem to want to use.

The US military is at a disadvantaged point in they don't speak the language, know little of the culture and outnumbered 20-100 to 1 in sheer numbers of Iraq's population. Another problem summer coming again and armor on them weapons turns into frying pans in the heat, aside from all the protective clothing they are probably wearing. I just don't think they have thought much through of it at all.

The bogus hand over of power back to Iraq was a joke to them it seems even before it was announced. I am no kind knowledgeable person on any of it, but one would think there might be some pretty pissed off GI's when and if they come back.

[Robbien]

9. They didn't fire Saleh, he just isn't commander in chief of Fallujah

Saleh is still there as a front line man. This headline is misleading.

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. And they accuse Kerry of "flip-flopping"

.
.
.

Feckadee

It's obvious the WH and the people in that 5-sided building have no fricken idea what they are doing.

[0007]

18. The early 50's G.I. in Korea use to sing....

There's a soldier in the grass
with his finger up his ass
pull out pull out
Uncle Sam put it there

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stay tuned. All

going well in Iraq Invasion.

[catmandu57]

12. I still say these people couldn't change a tire

none of them from the freakin whitehouse to the pentagon, to wherever that cabal is meeting. Like flipflops, heres one these people are fucking geniuses.
If we make it to November alive it's going to be a tidalwave washing them out.

[yellowcanine]

14. Good thing "the adults are in charge". Otherwise we might think

this is all one big clusterfuck. Could the Iraq "policy" be any more chaotic?

[joanski01]

16. As soon as I saw the heading,

London Exile General, I said "oh, shit". Now they've gone and put one of Chalabli's people as Commander! This ain't gonna work. The bushies* PNAC don't care about anything. They don't care about the Congressional hearings, appropriations, books, accusations, people, etc. They are just going bullheaded with their plans. Very, very scary.

[0007]

19. Ah, Henry Kissinger sez this is a good man with a good heart

Boosh has done the right thing.

....Yeah right!!

[damnraddem]

17. When one is sinking in a quagmire, one tends to thrash out ...

ineffectively.

The U.S. can't even cut an run effectively.

[Miss Authoritiva]

20. "The Scotsman" newspaper got it right.

"General Disarray in U.S. Hunt for Iraqi to Head Fallujah Brigade

The appointment of an Iraqi general to head the brigade taking over from US forces besieging Fallujah was reduced to farce today."


For South Park fans: extra fun with "General Disarray"

[daleo]

22. Is this the guy?

"Wa’il ‘Abd al-Latif, (Shi‘ite Arab), currently the Acting Governor of Basra, was a prominent judge who had been Deputy Chief Judge of the Basra Court. He spent some time in prison in 1994."

Well, the name Latif, and prison fit anyway.

[daleo]

23. A little more on this guy

"Back in Najaf, the military still held back from going after the militia's leader, a radical cleric, to avoid angering Iraq's Shiite majority. Instead, the U.S. turned to a new commander for an Iraqi force taking control of Fallujah, considering Maj. Gen. Mohammed Latif - who opposed Saddam Hussein - to replace another general."

Detroit Free Press

If he opposed Saddam when exactly was he a major general? And, is he the very model of a modern major general?

On edit - nothing on Google coming up on him, other than the Free Press story. Either they changed his name, or this was someone who kept a low profile.

[leftchick]

24. The Link is Not Working!

anyone have a better one?

[daleo]

25. You could try this, don't know how it will work

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=MIDTF&SECTION=HOME

It is a Detroit Free Press story from May 3, 2004 (today).

[leftchick]

26. thank you daleo....

it worked fine... :)