maybe its just that underskull aluminum* pie pan utensil that was so kindly and permanently implanted for me by them abducting aliens but, friends, i'm beginning to get the vague impression that we been sandbagged in iraq.

i don't mean the kinda sandbags used to fortify or contain floodwaters (altho i guess one of them would work too). im thinking poker. let's say...based on what you've seen, you have the winning hand. you've appeared reluctant to continue to help fund what is now a pretty decent pot (so as to not scare any fools out too quickly). now everyone still in the game has reached the point of no-return so you bump every bet and triumphantly lay your hand on the table at the call (cards speak for themselves, right?) and that's when it hits you. literally...just like a sock fulla sand...your straight ain't never gonna beat that flush.

oh. and by 'we' i mean everyone not associated with the white house for at least the last 3 decades.

lets review the events of the past 30 days.

the usa pushes adnan pachachi for president of the iraqi interim government vs the iraqi favorite al-yawer who was a shoe-in til bremer 'delayed' the vote long enough for pachachi (complaining of having lost his viability because of being too closely associated with america) to drop out . al-yawer becomes the chic sheik president guy but bush and bremer both put a brave face on it and agree to support the election.

tenet resigns his position as cia director.

2 days ago--and 2 days ahead of schedule--the us transfers sovereignty to the iig.

yesterday, prime minister allawi--whose name is under al-yawer's on the organizational chart even though allawi is really in charge from what i gather--announces the new iraqi government's first big move will be to take custody of saddam hussein (without actually taking custody) and bring him to justice.

allawi's been a busy man since becoming prime minister. actually he was pretty busy prior to that as well.

as a student in the early 1960s he was an enthusiastic baath party member. he fled iraq for the uk in 1971 after falling out of favor with the party. while in england in 1978, allawi was the victim of an assassination attempt (presumably ordered by his former friend, then deputy president, saddam hussein).

after recovering, allawi practiced medicine until the early 90s when he founded the iraqi national accord and began working for the cia and m16. consisting largely of other iraqi defectors, the ina was what would be called a terrorist organization if it was funded by any other government but ours. the cia was paying ina members to disrupt order in iraq and they chose to do it with bombs.

among other things, dr allawi provided the intelligence that led blair to inform the parliament iraq's wmds could be operational within 45 minutes should that be necessary.

(btw. un envoy brahimi was less than enthusiastic about allawi and resigned two weeks after allawi's election. when asked about the role of the us in allawi's appointment, brahimi replied: “i sometimes say, i'm sure he doesn't mind me saying that, bremer is the dictator of iraq. he has the money. he has the signature. nothing happens without his agreement in this country.”)

more recently--since becoming iraq's new prime minister--allawi has been busily consolidating his power base within the government, filling positions with (among others) members of the ina and his relatives

in addition to his other duties, he heads the iig's security committee. his deputy, nouri badran--a member of the ina--heads the interior ministry. ali allawi (cousin) is in charge of the iraq defence ministry. last december, after receiving tenet's blessing, allawi created the new iraq intelligence agency and began recruiting former members of saddam's mukhabrarat--the very people who did most of hussein's torturing and killing. approving allawi's choices, iig security committee member ibrahim al-janabi said, “under the saddam regime, the entire structure of iraq was built around security."

(the good news about all this is...if anyone understands the car bomber mentality it would be dr allawi. the ina--according to reports by former cia agents--specialized in bombings, including car bombings, on behalf of the cia in iraq throughout the 90s.)

considering everything that goes on in iraq, one might make the mistake of thinking allawi's priorities are a bit skewed. after all, hussein's not going anywhere soon.

but then one might have thought one was about to rake in that big pot with a straight.

and here's where that aluminum foil implant kicks in.

i cant help thinking we're about to see an agenda unfold that will make michael moore swoon. if hussein is immediately taken to trial as allawi plans--even though iraq really has no judiciary system in place or perhaps because of that reality--theres not much likelihood this former cia operative who has his own lobbyist in dc (nor anyone else) is going to dig too deeply into saddam's relationships with members of the reagan and previous bush administration. if he were so inclined--and im sure hes not-- the current bush administration has effectively embargoed all but 10% of the reagan administration files indefinitely (contrary to mrs reagan's wishes). it might be just coincidence that so many of those who worked with hussein in the good old days are members of this administration as well. then again...

in other words kiddies...a whole lot of history that this administration would prefer to never be divulged is about to be swept under a flying carpet.

one last bit of information. allawi's dissatisfaction with hussein and the baath party was a lot less principled than one might expect from a kindly english doctor. according to allawi, saddam hijacked the party leaving an ambitious guy like himself with no room for advancement.


*aluminum is not the optimum material. i once edited an energy newsletter published by a guy who'd spent weekends with the somozas and went to sporting events with people like bunky hunt. while helping him to prepare to introduce the world to a huge geothermal project in japan funded by some guys with real 24k gold business cards, he had one of his gofers run out to buy enough mylar balloons to cover all the office windows. when i asked what was up, i was informed that mylar is actually the only material invulnerable to voice-sensing technology