The Common Ills: Abbas J. Ali loves Nouri al-Maliki

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Abbas J. Ali loves Nouri al-Maliki

Abbas J. Ali is a professor, apparently one with a doctorate in deceit. At Middle East Online, he serves up a high fantasy, low-fact mixture.

Noting calls for his beloved beloved Nouri al-Maliki to step down, Ali states, "Indeed, there are some who claim that once Maliki leaves the political scene, Iraq's ills will be significantly eliminated." There probably are some -- in the many calling for Nouri to step down -- who do feel that all the problems go when Nouri leaves. Some.

It's not really a talking point or an argument being made publicly but it probably exists. Just like there are probably some men who jerk off to images of Abbas J. Ali. That's probably not a large number either. Unless goony look asses with major overbites is suddenly the new hot thing.

Ali then wants to bring up a New York Times column and the writers but 'forgets' to note that Osama al-Nujaifi states he did not write the column and has been saying that for over a week now. (And, in fact, Al Mada reports today that deputies wrote the column.)

Ali may 'forget' to note that due to the fact that it doesn't help the case he's attempting to close to tell the truth.

Ali refuses to be bound by facts, "The leaders of Iraqiya, in coordination with Kurdish politicians, have reached a conclusion that the United States, supported by several neighboring countries, can easily pave the way for profound political changes that can ultimately catapult them to power. This, however, may turn out to be a dangerous gamble."

While I'm not calling for the coward Ali to be deported, I will note that if he had any honor, he'd leave the US on his own and do so immediately. How dare he attempt to use the US to pimp his politics, specifically, to lie that the US supports X sin an attempt to discredit X.

Again, if he had any honor, he'd leave the country he clearly has no loyalty to.

(For those who can't handle the basics, flashcard version. This is not about him criticizing the US. Go ahead. Feel free. This is about him lying to make it appear that Allawi and company are tight with the US -- or think they are -- and to use this misportrayal as an attempt to discredit Allawi and company. He fled to the US and now wants to use alleged support from the US to tar Allawi and company.)

Do Allawi and and the Kurds believe what Ali insists they do? No. And they'd have to be very stupid to believe as Ali insists they do. When has the US government supported anyone over Nouri?

When Nouri's goons were targeting Iraq's LGBT community, did President Barack Obama utter one word publicly? Even when a few members of Congress raised the issue, Barack refused to say "boo." February 25th, when Nouri ordered reporters attacked, kidnapped, and tortured did Barack say one word publicly? Hell no. As the so-called Arab Spring swept the region, Nouri cracked down on demonstrators in Iraq. Barack never publicly rebuked him for it.

The Bush administration installed Nouri in April 2006 as prime minister (he was not the one the MPs wanted). In 2010, the US government blocked efforts to call for a caretaker government to get Nouri out of the post of prime minister (after his State of Law did not come in first in the 2010 elections and after he refused to allow the process to move forward). To keep Nouri on as prime minister, the US government brokered the Erbil Agreement promising Kurds and Iraqiya they'd get benefits for allowing Nouri to hang on to the post of prime minister. When Nouri immediately broke the Erbil Agreement, the US government didn't call him out. For over a year now, Iraq's been in political stalemate and the US didn't give a damn.

With all of those actions, the Kurds and Iraqiya would be very stupid to believe the US really put their interests first.

Ali's not done with his 'creative' writing: "These experts argue that the leaders of the Iraqiya coalition are unrealistically betting that the United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, their major backers, will blindly go along with their design." Where are the Kurds? Ali drops them all the sudden? How come? Because even he knows no one will believe that the Turkish government is supporting the Kurds. Nor are they supporting Allawi or Iraqiya. Nouri is their guy. Same with the US. Saudi Arabia did back Allawi, that is the only truth in the statement.

Ali insists, "For over a year, policymakers in Washington have expected the Iraqiya coalitions, and their alliance with the ethnic Kurdish groups, to deliver on their promise to permit American troops to stay in Iraq well beyond 2012. But these politicians, faced with strong resentment to foreign troops, have failed miserably to do so." Nouri was who they relied on. And it's who they rely on now which is why the State Dept offers embarrassing statements publicly. A lot of people are destroying their reputations by staying with this administration. Nouri will not go down well in history and the failure of Barack's administration to publicly rebuke him will read historically as weakness and appeasement.

Ali insists, "Most Iraqis appreciate Maliki's independent thinking and his skillfulness in ending the military occupation."

Oh, well if the Ali says it, I guess it must be true.

How do we measure support?

One way is in votes. Despite manipulating the system, Nouri's State of Law still came in second in the elections to Allawi's Iraqiya. So Nouri's not beloved by "most" on that scale.

Another measurement is polling. It was only last week that the same publication, Middle East Online, featured James Zogby covering a Zogby poll of Iraqis on their various political leaders:

We asked Iraqis to evaluate their leaders and found that most are polarizing figures. Iraqi List coalition Iyad Allawi has the best overall rating of any Iraqi political figure receiving strong support from Sunni Arabs and Kurds. He, however, is not viewed favorably by Shia Arabs. The current Prime Minister, Nuri al Maliki, is more polarizing with quite limited support from Sunni Iraqis and Kurds. In fact his numbers across the board are strikingly similar to those received by cleric, Moqtada al Sadr, except that al Sadr does better among Shia, and receives approximately the same ratings as al Maliki among Sunni Arabs and only slightly worse among Kurds.

So Nouri is "polarizing with quite limited support from Sunni Iraqis and Kurds"? That doesn't make for "most Iraqis appreciate Nouri's independent thinking."

If Abbas J. Ali so appreciates the 'independent thinking' of Nouri, maybe he should take his ass on back to Baghdad? If Nouri's so wonderful, maybe the arm chair warrior should move back to Baghdad and ensure that Nouri has the support Ali believes he deserves?

The following community sites -- plus Adam Kokesh -- updated this morning and last night: