Allawi a Longtime, Trusted Source for CIA

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/9595184.htm

MATT KELLEY

Associated Press


WASHINGTON - The new Iraqi prime minister, trying to stave off attacks by anti-American militants, has a long relationship with Washington as a trusted intelligence source, former officials say.

Ayad Allawi also helped British intelligence gather information about Saddam Hussein's regime during nearly three decades in exile. Once a member of Saddam's Baath Party, Allawi later formed the Iraqi National Accord to act as a conduit for defectors from, and sources in, the former Iraqi government.

Now Allawi heads the appointed Iraqi interim government struggling to assert its authority and its independence from the United States. Allawi has taken a hard line against militants, threatening them with military action while pressing for negotiations to have anti-government militias lay down their arms.

The Iraqi prime minister has said he's proud of his contacts with Washington and other governments and claimed he worked with "at least 15" intelligence agencies while in exile.

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[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. And one more ironic paragraph....

"Over the years, Allawi's contacts were proven to be real while Chalabi's were never what Chalabi told us," said Yaphe, now a fellow at the Pentagon's National Defense University. "I have a feeling that, even if he may have been passing information that turned out to be wrong, he seems to have been fed better stuff."

[Rose Siding]

2. Even more irony...

"Some of Allawi's information did turn out to be spectacularly wrong...."

Allawi screwed them on WDM intel and Atta stories, too!

[Moderator]

3. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=804706