US installs new Saddam

I guess denying it is not enough.

Some will believe the bad guys no matter what happens.

The people of Iraq will be able to vote soon on their new leader - who will we blame when that happens?

Did you read the article suzy?

Dr Allawi's office has dismissed the allegations as rumours instigated by enemies of his interim government.

A statement in the name of spokesman Taha Hussein read: "We face these sorts of allegations on a regular basis. Numerous groups are attempting to hinder what the interim Iraqi government is on the verge of achieving, and occasionally they spread outrageous accusations hoping they will be believed and thus harm the honourable reputation of those who sacrifice so much to protect this glorious country and its now free and respectable people.

"Dr Allawi is turning this country into a free and democratic nation run by the rule of law; so if your sources are as credible as they say they are, then they are more than welcome to file a complaint in a court of law against the Prime Minister."

In response to a question asking if Dr Allawi carried a gun, the statement said: "[He] does not carry a pistol. He is the Prime Minister of Iraq, not a combatant in need of any weaponry."

Sabah Khadum, a senior adviser to Interior Minister Mr Naqib, whose portfolio covers police matters, also dismissed the accounts. Rejecting them as "ludicrous", Mr Khadum said of Dr Allawi: "He is a doctor and I know him. He was my neighbour in London. He just doesn't have it in him. Baghdad is a city of rumours. This is not worth discussing."

Mr Khadum added: "Do you think a man who is Prime Minister is going to disqualify himself for life like this? This is not a government of gangsters."

Asked if Dr Allawi had visited the Al-Amariyah complex - one of the most important counter-insurgency centres in Baghdad - Mr Khadum said he could not reveal the Prime Minister's movements. But he added: "Dr Allawi has made many visits to police stations ... he is heading the offensive."

US officials in Iraq have not made an outright denial of the allegations. An emailed response to questions from the Herald to the US ambassador, John Negroponte, said: "If we attempted to refute each [rumour], we would have no time for other business. As far as this embassy's press office is concerned, this case is closed."

The names of three of the alleged victims have been obtained by the Herald.

One of the witnesses claimed that before killing the prisoners Dr Allawi had told those around him that he wanted to send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents.

"The prisoners were against the wall and we were standing in the courtyard when the Interior Minister said that he would like to kill them all on the spot. Allawi said that they deserved worse than death - but then he pulled the pistol from his belt and started shooting them."

Re-enacting the killings, one witness stood three to four metres in front of a wall and swung his outstretched arm in an even arc, left to right, jerking his wrist to mimic the recoil as each bullet was fired. Then he raised a hand to his brow, saying: "He was very close. Each was shot in the head
The witnesses said seven prisoners had been brought out to the courtyard, but the last man in the line was only wounded - in the neck, said one witness; in the chest, said the other.

Given Dr Allawi's role as the leader of the US experiment in planting a model democracy in the Middle East, allegations of a return to the cold-blooded tactics of his predecessor are likely to stir a simmering debate on how well Washington knows its man in Baghdad, and precisely what he envisages for the new Iraq.

There is much debate and rumour in Baghdad about the Prime Minister's capacity for brutality, but this is the first time eyewitness accounts have been obtained.

Did you read the article suzy?

There is much debate and rumour in Baghdad about the Prime Minister's capacity for brutality, but this is the first time eyewitness accounts have been obtained.

A former CIA officer, Vincent Cannisatraro, recently told The New Yorker: "If you're asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does. He was a paid Mukhabarat [intelligence] agent for the Iraqis, and he was involved in dirty stuff."

A former CIA officer, Vincent Cannisatraro, recently told The New Yorker: "If you're asking me if Allawi has blood on his hands from his days in London, the answer is yes, he does. He was a paid Mukhabarat [intelligence] agent for the Iraqis, and he was involved in dirty stuff."

In Baghdad, varying accounts of the shootings are interpreted by observers as useful to a little-known politician who, after 33 years in exile, needs to prove his leadership credentials as a "strongman" in a war-ravaged country that has no experience of democracy.

Dr Allawi's statement dismissed the allegations as rumours instigated by enemies of his interim government.

But in a sharp reminder of the Iraqi hunger for security above all else, the witnesses did not perceive themselves as whistle-blowers. In interviews with the Herald they were enthusiastic about such killings, with one of them arguing: "These criminals were terrorists. They are the ones who plant the bombs."

Before the shootings, the 58-year-old Prime Minister is said to have told the policemen they must have courage in their work and that he would shield them from any repercussions if they killed insurgents in the course of their duty.

The witnesses said the Iraqi police observers were "shocked and surprised". But asked what message they might take from such an act, one said: "Any terrorists in Iraq should have the same destiny. This is the new Iraq.

"Allawi wanted to send a message to his policemen and soldiers not to be scared if they kill anyone - especially, they are not to worry about tribal revenge. He said there would be an order from him and the Interior Ministry that all would be fully protected.

"He told them: 'We must destroy anyone who wants to destroy Iraq and kill our people.'

Friendly dictators

Abacha, General Sani -Nigeria
Amin, Idi -Uganda
Banzer, Colonel Hugo -Bolivia
Batista, Fulgencio -Cuba Bolkiah, Sir Hassanal -Brunei
Botha, P.W. -South Africa
Branco, General Humberto -Brazil
Cedras, Raoul -Haiti
Cerezo, Vinicio -Guatemala
Chiang Kai-Shek -Taiwan
Cordova, Roberto Suazo -Honduras
Christiani, Alfredo -El Salvador
Diem, Ngo Dihn -Vietnam
Doe, General Samuel -Liberia
Duvalier, Francois -Haiti
Duvalier, Jean Claude -Haiti
Fahd bin'Abdul-'Aziz, King -Saudi Arabia
Franco, General Francisco -Spain
Hitler, Adolf -Germany
Hassan II-Morocco
Marcos, Ferdinand -Philippines
Martinez, General Maximiliano Hernandez -El Salvador
Mobutu Sese Seko -Zaire
Noriega, General Manuel -Panama
Ozal, Turgut -Turkey
Pahlevi, Shah Mohammed Reza -Iran
Papadopoulos, George -Greece
Park Chung Hee -South Korea
Pinochet, General Augusto -Chile
Pol Pot-Cambodia
Rabuka, General Sitiveni -Fiji
Montt, General Efrain Rios -Guatemala
Salassie, Halie -Ethiopia
Salazar, Antonio de Oliveira -Portugal
Somoza, Anastasio Jr. -Nicaragua
Somoza, Anastasio, Sr. -Nicaragua
Smith, Ian -Rhodesia
Stroessner, Alfredo -Paraguay
Suharto, General -Indonesia
Trujillo, Rafael Leonidas -Dominican Republic
Videla, General Jorge Rafael -Argentina
Zia Ul-Haq, Mohammed -Pakistan

hmm...
you know you are right... the mighty US does control all things, all the time, unless a democrat is in office. Would that be accurate?

As a researcher and hypnotherapist I have worked with people who claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials. I have interviewed UFO researchers, scientists, authors, and people who claim to have secret information.

Whatever. Just another case of liberal outrage over a nothing incident that has not been thouroughly investigated or reported on.