Stacking the Iranian Deck: Developments since Saddam's Capture

By Mathew Maavak
[Mr. Maavak can be reached at qannai@hotmail.com]

The deck is now almost complete with the capture of the Ace of Spades. The new White House concern would be that this house built on cards aka the Iraqi charade would not collapse too soon, before the 2004 elections. What is missing is the Joker and there are eminently suitable candidates for this. Bush tops the list, and so does Tony Blair. Donald Rumsfeld, though, belongs more to that Tarot caricature called Death. That ranks higher than the Ace of any Spades!

Now, the big question- what next? The Iranians are baying for Saddam Hussein’s trial, as they don’t want his blood so soon. Iran’s supreme leader “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recalled that the United States ignored Tehran's early warnings about Saddam and supported Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s that killed more than a million people on both sides. The same Americans who are against Saddam now, including the current secretary of defense (Rumsfeld), shook hands with him in Baghdad and supported him to put Iran under pressure.” (AP, Dec 16) The Pandora’s Box is being opened. Uncle Sam’s bloodstained linens in Iraq are now in danger of being brandished as Exhibit A in the international court of opinion. They stretch for miles, and decades, from the Ba’athist overthrow of Gen Abdul Karim Kassem with CIA help (1958) to the tacit acquiescence over chemical warfare against the Iranians and Kurds, to the WMD hoax. When the latter actually existed and used in the 80s, President Ronald Reagan’s envoy Rumsfeld “was instructed to tell then Iraqi foreign minister Tareq Aziz” that the US condemnation over “chemical weapons did not affect the US desire to improve bilateral relations, at a pace of Iraq's choosing.” According to Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, “From the day the Ba’athist regime began its fight against the Muslims and the Shiites, the United States, Britain and other oppressor powers rallied around Saddam Hussein. They were accomplices in all the crimes committed by Saddam.” (AFP, Dec 19).

More than a million people died in the Iran-Iraq war alone, and the Iranians have every right to call for a Milosevic-style trial. Nazi war criminals can still be indicted for their crimes, half a century after their deeds entered history books. Here is the current Iranian gambit – they want Saddam to be tried by an international court for crimes committed against his people (foremost), Iran and Kuwait. This will drag on long enough for you to hear those familiar blusters with the embarrassing details, from a well shaven, mustachioed, ex-dictator in The Hague. The US, however, does not recognize the International Criminal Court. The chairman of Iraq’s Governing Council Abdel Aziz al-Hakim came to Bush’s rescue, claiming the high moral of ground of Saddam being prosecuted by a special Iraqi court (AFP, Dec 16). Who elected al-Hakim? If he knew his propaganda well, the Iraqi TV would be whipping up vengeful passions, repeating clips of Saddam’s torture chambers, the thousands of skeletal remains still being unearthed, and images of chemical attack victims, among others. A speedy execution can be assured this way, accomplished by the masses themselves. “But coalition officials said the matter of where, when and how the ousted president will be judged had not yet been resolved.” (AFP, Dec 15). I find this hard to believe. The Nuremberg trials were planned way before WWII ended, including its detailed legal mechanism. Does this mean that the Saddam capture wasn’t planned at all, and that some unexpected circumstance forced it? Or they had him in the first place, and out of sympathy for his blanched skin, decided that some sunshine might do him a little good?

The Brits also have their high moral ground. “We have abolished the death penalty here... and we campaign hard to try and extend the abolition of the death penalty,” said Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Where was Jack Straw when Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft was executed on Saddam’s orders before Gulf War 1? UK citizens have to ask what sort of cooperation went on after that murder, if any trial takes place. This is unlikely, as the US is the sole global arbiter; the UN is just a place for non-entities to show how important they are to their own constituencies. The Kuwaitis don’t want a trial for crimes committed against its own people during the 1990 occupation. Forget the rapes, pillages and murders against Kuwaitis as Nurse Nayirah's heart-wrenching testimony did more to incriminate Saddam. Who supplied the money in the war against Iran and acted as the conduit for American arms? Such details should never see daylight, from the bedraggled horse’s own mouth.

The house of cards received a mild jolt when former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark announced that he was willing to provide legal counsel to Saddam. US officials stuck with the “Iraqi plan”. Any trial should be conducted by a special local tribunal. The AP (Dec 19) reports “there are still many questions that remain unresolved, including when a trial would take place, and what kind of charges he would face.” That must have been the original, meticulous plan for prosecution. Uncertainty, confusion and uncontrollable turmoil, leading to a quick trial and execution! “All the Governing Council members agree that Saddam must be tried in Iraq by Iraqi judges,” declared council spokesman Hamid al-Kifai. Didn’t Bush say that Saddam was a threat to the world, and not just the US? Why not let the world try him! “We reject demands to try the former president in an international tribunal, and we emphasize that he must be tried in Iraq,” said interim Justice Minister Hashem al-Shebli. (AFP, Dec 19) Iraqi judges have enough experience and information to carry out the task.” (AP, Dec 19) Experience under Saddam? What a joke! Again, who elected this Justice Minister? Where is the justice, and truth over the alleged Saddam-Al Qaeda-Sept 11 links, all contributing to thousands of American deaths? An Iraqi appointed by the Americans doesn’t find these relevant anymore? Do the handpicked Iraqi leaders think that terrorized Iraqis, Kurds and Persians aren’t worthy of a well-documented Nuremberg-style trial, after which they can all say “Never Again!”? Iranian judge Mahmoud Shiraj wrote to “UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan” recently “asking him to intercede so that Saddam could stand trial in Iran.” (AP, Dec 15,). Annan can’t even send the thug to The Hague.

The Iranian position is unsettling in that it is legitimate. Going by the usual crude US logic, they should be silenced. Here are some of the counter-maneuvers executed. The barrage and dates indicate advance planning.

Iran it seems deserved reparations, worth up to US$100 billion by Tehran’s estimates. Al-Hakim relented to some form of restitution after meeting Tony Blair. Kuwait was already paid billions for the 1990 occupation. The bribe offer didn’t work. Governing Council member Jalal Talabani said Iran “has so far not asked for any money…Instead they offered a lot of help.” (Reuters, Dec 18)

This psy-war campaign should also involve simultaneous demonization, spectral projections a la nukes, and outright spin.

FBI Director Louis Freeh laid the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans on Iran’s doorstep. “My own conclusion, not speaking for the FBI at this point, was that the attack was planned, funded and sponsored by the senior leadership of the government of Iran,” Freeh testified in a lawsuit brought by families of the victims. Freeh said he is “certain Iran, and not the al Qaida terrorist organization, was behind the bombing.” Now the “families want Iran to pay compensation for their losses.” Not a single Iranian was detained for that bombing, just “13 Saudis and a Lebanese man.” The Khobar Towers “dormitory housed U.S. pilots and support crews enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq”. And Iran was interested in killing the very Americans who were pulverizing Saddam’s Iraq? And where did this evidence come from? Freeh claimed Iran’s “complicity” was based on “interviews in 1999 and 2000 with six men detained” by the great ally “Saudi Arabia. What about those six Britons who “confessed” to earlier bombings in Saudi Arabia over booze turf wars, all under duress? “The six admitted involvement in the bombing plot and provided details about planning, money and training,” Freeh and former FBI counter-terror chief Dale Watson testified before one of those paper tiger judicial inquiries. Both Freeh and Watson said “they could not discuss many specifics about the six, and could not reveal other information that supported their view that Iran is to blame.” (AP, Dec 18, 2003). Just like those tons of information about Sept 11 that can douse conspiracy theories but yet “cannot be revealed.” Is anybody taking note?

Freeh’s testimony wasn’t quite good enough. The propaganda machine has to be ratcheted up.

Now we come to religious intolerance. “The United States assailed the Islamic states of Iran and Saudi Arabia” –note the order of mention- “as the worst offenders of religious freedom rights in the Middle East. The two countries - along with pre-war Iraq - were listed in the State Department's annual report on international religious freedom as nations in which there is state hostility toward minority or non-approved religions.” I thought pre-war Iraq’s Tariq Aziz was Chaldean? “Despite calls from religious freedom and human rights watchdogs, Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East, is not designated a ‘country of particular concern’” – unlike Iran – “although Thursday's report equates conditions there with those in Iran.” (AFP, Dec 18) Uh, that’s why Iran is moving towards democracy and the theocracy is being violently challenged by the majority of Iranians. How many minority members died in Iran during the past 10 years? Definitely a few, but what about that violent religious pastime in Pakistan - killing Christians? They are probably the only Christian minority in the world who are economically downtrodden en masse; many of them are cleaning toilets for a living. US “super evangelists” try to look the other way when Pakistan is pointed out as another Great Ally. The Saudis are more tolerant –in all things - they don’t quite allow women to work or travel freely, and therefore afford the ultimate protection at home, unlike Iranians, who are required to wear that shawl and loose garments (even this is being challenged vehemently) when they work as journalists, doctors, clerks and teachers. Israel and Turkey has, of course, “improved”, the report states.

The Saudis were condemned with words of gloss. “Senior (Saudi) officials have made some efforts to improve the climate of tolerance toward other religions and within Islam. There had been moves to delete disparaging references to non-Muslims in schoolbooks.” Great! Can anyone tape those mosque sermons in Riyadh and translate them on this site? There is some great depiction of American women as sluts. All of them! I am not talking about the commonplace male chauvinist jokes here. Plus, now since the Saudis are tolerant, you might see Santa Claus and a camel named Rafeek speeding through the Arabian dessert on a modified sledge, lugging a bagful of AK-47s. For the real thing, visit some Armenian church in Iran.

I have personally heard of Saudi converts to Christianity, who, were refused migration visas to the United States. So, much for religious concern and those evangelistic “God bless our great country” hogwash while the sword awaits its fateful swing.

Next it was Israel’s turn. “Iran is the world's No. 1 terror nation and is plotting relentlessly to attack Israeli targets, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service said Tuesday, calling on Western nations to restrain Tehran.” He could be referring to the “made-in-Persia” spices that can be seen at Israeli marketplaces. They “relentlessly” make you salivate and plot endlessly with the H. Pylori bacteria in attacking delicate stomachs. “Israel has in the past accused Iran of sponsoring militant groups that attack Israel, but the remarks by the Shin Bet chief, Avi Dichter, appeared particularly harsh.” Beautiful timing! “It is clear that because of terror, Iran presents a strategic threat to Israel. Dichter said Iran is trying to attack Israel not only by sponsoring Hezbollah and Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza, but also by recruiting Israel's Arab citizens.” Uh, isn’t Israel occupying foreign soil? As for Israel’s Arab citizens, where is the Palestinian-Al Qaeda-Iraq connection now? “The third way, which is possibly the most dangerous for us, is that Iran has marked the Israeli Arabs as a potential fifth column for them to exploit.” Significantly, missiles and nukes were also mentioned. (AP, Dec 16 by Gavin Rabinowitz)

Now, check out this AFP Dec 18 report: “Iran is, after all, a country that exists under a veil of secrecy and whose leaders are prone to regular bouts of paranoia over perceived conspiracies orchestrated by arch-enemies Israel and the United States.” (Original writer’s own statement). They don’t have cause for paranoia?

From terror, we move on to nukes. No 1 global enemies enjoy a game of international carousel. Fidel Castro, Bin Laden, Kim Jong-il, the likes of Saddam and even good guys enjoy a rotating presidency here. The nuke saber-rattling began, but Iran did the smart thing by accepting the NPT treaty. There are bigger fishes to catch and it doesn’t include Saddam. The same AFP report stated that “Iran” is “signing up to what many had thought impossible - surprise international inspections of its top-secret nuclear facilities.” A diplomat was quoted as saying, “The idea of letting foreigners sniff around nuclear sites must have been a bitter pill to swallow.” No, its not! After adhering to the NPT, and to international law, can anyone deny the Iranians an ICC trial for Saddam? The writer explains the “alternative would have been shutting itself off and running the risk of UN sanctions and even conflict. In effect, the protocol stands in the way of the United States and Israel being able to use the nuclear issue to legitimize an attack.” (Diplomat’s quote). So, Iranians are “paranoid” about getting attacked? How this contradiction can appear, without a pretense of a blink in the same story, defies editorial logic. Here is further proof of Iran’s unfounded paranoia in the same breath. “There was also speculation that Israel - and even its international guardian the United States - were planning military strikes against nuclear facilities here.” The State Department is still keeping this option open. It said, “Iran's signing of an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that allows the snap visits was only a ‘first step’ in addressing US accusations that Tehran is secretly developing atomic weapons.” (AFP, Dec 18). It got most of its centrifuge designs from Pakistan; or rather as the spin has it, rogue Pakistani scientists. No wonder the Iranians are not too averse over anyone “sniffing around”. The scent leads right back to the ISI and the Pakistani government, beloved allies with much religious tolerance.

After this, it was missiles. The Iranians quickly pledged to tweak its missiles sufficiently to fall short of Tel Aviv. “The (current) Shahab-3 missile is believed to be derived from technology acquired from North Korea and Pakistan” (AFP, Dec 16). The former is behaving itself. President Bush said “the United States was employing ‘diplomatic means and persuasion’ to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and insisted progress was being made toward that goal. Now, observe the tone adopted towards Iran. “Bush also said that Iran would face ‘international consequences’ if it develops nuclear weapons. In North Korea, we're now in the process of using diplomatic means and persuasion to convince Kim Jong-il to get rid of his nuclear weapons program. I’m pleased with the progress we're making, and I hope, of course, he listens.” (Reuters, Dec 15) North Korea is a country where you can be shot dead for straying too close - after an aimless trek - to the Dear Leader’s presidential palace. No warnings are generally given. In Iran, members of the Basij militia now get regularly trashed.

“Bush said the lesson he learned from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was ‘that any time the president sees a gathering threat to the United States, we must deal with it’.” And where is Pakistan in all of this? Saudi Arabia? There are others “improving” as well, namely a one-time enemy No 1 called Col Kadahfi. Bush said that with Kadahfi's announcement to give up pursuit of nuclear weaponry, “Libya has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations.” They believe this guy? “And Colonel Kadhafi knows the way forward.” Too much sunshine in the Libyan Desert can have a hallucinatory effect. Read Kadhafi’s profile. “Libya should carry out the commitments announced today. Libya should also fully engage in the war against terror.” How sweet and cloying. Is this guy showing early signs of Reagan’s Alzheimer’s? Maybe it’s Bush who is having desert mirages. Tag-along Tony in England didn’t want to be left out. After all, he is an important leader to the White House. I am not too sure about the British public, or even the American one. “Libya had declared its intention to limit the range of Libyan missiles to no greater than 300 kilometres (180 miles).” (AFP, Dec 20) Long enough to decimate Chad but, again, not Tel Aviv.
There is another fear as well. Some nations are finding it easier to live without the US. “Swedish companies, led by truckmaker Volvo, have nearly doubled their exports to Iran, which is fast moving up the list of the Scandinavian country's largest export markets. Over the past nine months, Swedish sales to Iran have climbed by 88 percent, as exporters ignored United States embargo calls against Iran, which is on Washington's axis of evil list….While many Western countries have abided by the US embargo on Iran, neutral Sweden has never prohibited companies from doing business with the country. (AFP, Dec 17) All true-blooded Americans should ask themselves who owns the majority stake in Volvo! Independence from the US is not an option, though, profit rules.
There is this theory that Saddam wasn’t captured but “liberated” by the 600-strong US forces. He was, it seems, in Kurdish hands, “drugged and abandoned” (AFP, Dec 20) until the Charge of the Light Brigade into that rat hole. Another Jessica Lynch-type hoax? Another heroic spin? Let’s wait and see. Will the maniac will speedily confess to his crimes at the ICC, which, the US might “grudgingly allow” due to “extraordinary circumstances?” There may be a formula for Saddam to keep both his life and mouth shut. Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington reportedly dropped the bombshell. “I don't know that it was definitely planned on this weekend, but I know they've been in contact with people all along who knew basically where he was. It was just a matter of time till they'd find him. It's funny, when they're having all this trouble, suddenly they have to roll out something.”

Rep. Norm Dicks, a fellow Washington Democrat, was outraged at this anti-patriotic statement. “With all due respect to my colleague, that is a fantasy. That just is not right. It's one thing to criticize this administration for having done this war. I mean, that's a fair question. But to criticize them on the capture of Saddam, when it's such a big thing to our troops, is just ridiculous." (Bill Sammon, The Washington Times, Dec 17) Someone should tell this man that sending home the body bags of US troops in secret is a “big thing.” But he may be right; he was referring to troops still facing combat. As for the fallen heroes, they are dead and gone, no presidential presence needed at their funerals, not even memories.

The White House knows of the current market glut for red herrings. Every net-bursting, bountiful catch is met by an opportunistic demand for more. In financial terms, this makes sense. Hoarding leads to profit. Has anyone taken much notice of this AP report dated Dec14? “ President Bush has signed legislation making it easier for FBI agents investigating terrorism to demand financial records from casinos, car dealerships, and other businesses. The changes were included in a bill authorizing 2004 intelligence programs. Most details of the bill are secret, including the total costs of the programs, which are estimated to be about $40 billion.” The implications will sink in, later.
An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri surfaced in the nick of time, warning of terror attacks against Americans “in their homeland.” The White House warmed up to Ariel Sharon’s latest ghetto plan for the Palestinians (AP, Dec 19). The US$50,000 financing for the recent Istanbul bombings came from an “Iranian source”. (Reuter, Dec 20). Later, it will mean the Iranian government and subtly, its people. Enjoy the other herrings as well, all prepared by the grand chefs.

MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody and watch out for a bearded, white-turbaned Santa Claus who regularly brings glad tidings to Pennsylvania Avenue. This time, it seems it’s an election promise with a Ho! Ho! Ho! Sorry kids, there is no Rudolph, but might a poodle named Blair do?

Dec 21, 2003
Copyright © Mathew Maavak, 2003

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