US forces have begun to airlift Iraqi opposition fighters into southern Iraq, it has emerged.
The deployment, which is said to have begun on Friday night, will move about 1,000 men to a base in southern Iraq controlled by coalition forces.

The force is under the control of the Iraqi National Congress and its leader, Ahmed Chalabi, who will accompany his troops into Iraq.

Its stated aims are:

To assist liaison between coalition forces and leaders of the Shia Muslim population in southern Iraq

To help coalition forces in the area clear remaining resistance from militias loyal to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and restore security.

"These are Iraqi citizens who want to fight for a free Iraq, who will become basically the core of the new Iraqi army once Iraq is free," General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the American television network ABC.

The fighters were volunteers "from all over", including expatriates arriving from the United States, he added.

Coalition troops in southern Iraq have had a mixed reception from local people, despite the apparent distaste of the majority Shia population for Saddam Hussein.

'Source of friction'

Mr Chalabi is the most prominent leader of the often fractious groups who have fought to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Born in Baghdad in 1944, he and his family went into exile after the 1958 coup by Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.

ABC's Charles Glass says Mr Chalabi has been a source of friction in the current and previous US administrations.

His detractors, primarily in the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department, argue that he has little support inside Iraq. His supporters, primarily in the Pentagon, argue that he is a skilled and able politician who is committed to bringing democracy to Iraq.

Sunday also saw Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz stress the importance of the Iraqi people deciding their own future.

Asked whether the Iraqis could set up a new government as quickly as the Kurds set up a territory in northern Iraq that they began governing in 1991 after the first Gulf War, Mr Wolfowitz said it would take longer.

"Six months is what happened in northern Iraq," he told Fox News.

"This is a more complicated situation. It will take more than that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/2922587.stm

<font color="#C0C0C0">For those of you who don't know about Ahmed Chalabi, he's a fugitive wanted for embezzeling an estimated $70 million dollars from Jordan's Petra Bank. He was tried and found guilty in abstentia and faces a 22 year hard labour sentence if Jordan ever gets its hands on him. He certainly doesn't have much support in Iraq either.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1121/p01s02-wome.htm

So it would seem that we are about to replace one murderous criminal with a lesser criminal.

The 'beacon of democracy' has become dim even before the war is over... :(
</font>

This certainly will create friction between Iraq and Jordan.

It does seem to be apparant that the US has no hidden agenda in placing this guy in power, as the CIA aren't overly fond of him either so it makes me wonder just what they are thinking?

My guess is that the dollar signs in their eyes were preventing them from thinking at all.
A Related Story

What does the "Beacon of Democracy" growing dim have to do with unproven accusations in Jordan? And what do dollar signs have to do with anything? Once again, you are jumping to conclusions.

Read the accompanying link, you won't need to ask. ;)

Jumping to conclusions, obviously, since the war is still on, I am not going to argue that. :D

I think if the U.S. wants to gain the upper hand in the post-war Iraqi government though, they could choose better people to get them there, better people to build its foundation. Just my opinion. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-07-2003, 12:20 AM: Message edited by: Lil Lil ]

He was tried and sentenced in a court of law of the crimes of embezzlement, fraud and 'currency trading irregularities'. The case was proven.

<font color = lightgreen>Any court case in which you try someone in absentia is a weak case, at best. I'm not saying he didn't embezzle, but since he wasn't there he couldn't present any sort of defense.
On the other hand, whether or not he is indeed guilty of embezzlement the mere suspicion of having committed a major crime should disqualify him from being placed in any sort of authority in post-Hussein Iraq. Certainly there are other people who are better-qualified to assume positions of power.

I know the US wants to make sure that the new government in Iraq is a friendly one, but I think having too great a say in the establishment of said government will cause problems in the future.</font>

Agreed - although he always had the option of returning to mount his defence. Instead, he bought a home in the US and a $8 million dollar home in London's Mayfair just after fleeing Jordan... curious where the money came from ;)