Allawi's appointment bizarre-he was behind the media shutdown

http://www.iraq-today.com/article.php?id=3&sp=&searchstring=§ion=7
as well as:
-Behind the fake *45 minutes to attack* info -http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=526008
-Said document about Niger uranium (Joseph Wilson/Valerie Plame scandal) used by Bush in SOTU address was genuine, along with M Atta/Saddam/911 ties now discredited. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/14/wterr14.xml
-A former Baathist http://mideastreality.com/postwariraq.html
-nephew to Chalabi (his sister's son) http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/05/04/chalabi/

To top it off, he was appointed quickly, without Brahemi's approval but apparently by US and UK. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4143274,00.html
It's noteworthy that Allawi has strong CIA ties and according to that last link, "After Saddam's ouster, U.S. occupation officials gave Allawi as one of the 25 seats on the Governing Council. Over the past year, Allawi has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying in Washington to press his influence, more than any other council member."
(on edit: bizarre to anyone that thinks that the US is turning over *full sovereignty* to any entity except a puppet government)

Amazing, ain't it?

nt

http://www.iraq-today.com/article.php?id=3&sp=&searchstring=§ion=7

GC shuts out Al Jazeera, Arabiya
- 29-Sep-2003


BAGHDAD - In a move that has sparked a debate over press freedom in Iraq, the Governing Council (GC) has barred Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya from press conferences and its ministries for two weeks, citing the networks of inciting violence against them. The GC has described the controversial move a decision that is "no less democratic than that of British authorities, which restricted the UK media in its reporting of the IRA for twelve years."

As a result the GC has denied the networks' access to Ministers, ministries and GC members for two weeks. Neither Arabia, nor Al Jazeera may attend press conferences, speak to ministers or take part in other public press events. Just days after the fatal attack on council member Aqila al Hashimi, the shutout is the latest twist in the battle of wills between the GC and the Arabic news channels. The tussle began in full with the council's very public criticisms of the satellite channels as they were being sworn-in in July.

Ayad Allawi, GC member and head of Iraqi National Accord, pointed to the increasing wave of al Jazeera's and Arabiya's reports showing groups calling for the restoration of the former regime. Allawi criticised footage of kafiya-clad groups threatening to attack the GC members. That footage, the council claimed, compelled them to issue a "protective measure". "We found some satellite channels that incited the killing of GC members," Allawi said. "They < al Jazeera and Arabiya> show groups with masks saying they worked for a certain side and threatened to do terrorist actions. These channels forgot the fact that the GC is composed of political forces that struggled against a horrible dictatorship and gave many martyrs."

The decision has opened the GC to all manner of questions ranging from its openness before the Iraqi public to an outright censorship. In no small irony, channels like the BBC, CNN and others have been known to pick up coverage of al Jazeera and Arabiya. The GC said it intends to be the protector of democracy in Iraq, a factor that encouraged it to make the decision.

"We dismantled the ministry of information to keep up Iraq's commitment to progress with democracy," said Allawi.
*****
Nice to have a guy who believes so much in Freedom of ... CENSORSHIP