Mr. Fix-it

Two days, two bin Laden tapes. One might almost think he was holed up in one of al-Jazeera's studios.

His latest audio tape is an endorsement of the new leader of al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, or whatever the latest nom de guerre is these days:

"I pray to God to make him the best successor to the best predecessor," bin Laden said. He urged him to step up "the struggle" to transform Iraq into the center of an Islamic Caliphate.

Bin Laden also urged the leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq to work with other militant groups operating there, saying they should maintain membership in the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization grouping Islamist militants fighting U.S. troops and the Iraqi government.

The Shura Council. Last we checked one of the top dogs was a former member of Saddam's military who goes by the sir name of al-Baghdadi. We were also recently informed that Haitham Al Badri, a former regime member, was directly behind the Golden Dome attack. Izzat al-Duri and his sons remain on the loose. All of this makes it difficult for al-Maliki to get anywhere with an amnesty program.

But if you really want a clear picture of the network we're still dealing with--the network Saddam cultivated--don't ignore this story:

According to Mr Vincent, the secret backchannel was used to pass messages between the UN chief and Iraq. The court was told that Mr Vincent kept note of purported exchanges in which Dr Boutros Ghali allegedly told Iraq to put secret police with UN monitors and that he would try to “neutralise” the UN’s chief weapons inspector.

Allegedly the notorious Tongsun Park acted as an international Mr. Fix-it for the Butcher, one of many. Park's name, and his partner in crime Samir Vincent's, are dropped all over the place in some very interesting ways:

Farbiarz outlined a tale of secret swaps of messages and money in New York cafes and restaurants; night-time meetings at the Sutton Place official residence of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali; a close encounter with longtime U.N. eminence Maurice Strong, who served as a top adviser to both Boutros-Ghali and then to Kofi Annan; and an episode in which Park in 1997 picked up cash from Saddam’s number two man in Iraq, Tariq Aziz, and “drove out of the Iraqi desert over the Jordanian border.”

How does any of this tie in with bin Laden? One might say he's simply pouncing on the embers of the previous regime, which he helped destroy by pretending to form a relationship in the 90s, only to draw America into the WoT knowing Iraq would fall victim to it. That would leave an opening whereupon he could begin his new Caliphate. Or, one might also say he was simply on Saddam's payroll just like all the others.

IRAQ'S MOST WANTED 7/2/06

In the spirit of John Walsh, Iraq's new National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie announced a brand new most-wanted list, which seemed to surprise a few folks:

The list, which offers a $10 million bounty for former Saddam deputy Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, accuses Saddam's daughter, Raghd, and her mother of using millions stolen by the former Iraqi leader to finance the Sunni insurgency.

It's interesting that someone given asylum in Jordan would be on Iraq's hit list, especially after Jordan just refused to accept burial for al-Zarqawi despite bin Laden's protestations.

But more interesting might be the yawning indifference to the former regime most-wanted deck of carders:

Also included in the document was a former Saddam intelligence chief as well as senior Baathists, who fled their posts in the wake of invading U.S. forces and are now playing a key role in the insurgency that has killed over 2,500 Americans.

Some, like Douri, are still on the three-year-old "deck of cards", a list of 55 wanted Baathist officials issued by the U.S. military. Most of the 55 are dead or in captivity but Douri, at times reported killed, appears still to be at liberty.

One of the other deck of carders was the former Chief of the Iraq Intelligence Service.

Shall we make anything out of the fact that Iraq placed al-Duri as number one and al-Masri number thirty?

MORE 7/2/06

It's not easy to keep track of the players on the merry-go-round. Evan Kohlmann tells us that despite the connection made by both DoD and the Iraqi government, UBL hasn't exactly made clear the same connection.

Regardless, here's a few possible reasons why Iraq might want to place al-Duri number one and al-Masri number thirty on their new list:

1) To cover Iran's involvement. This theory plays up the threat from Saddam's dead-enders to cover the destablizing influence coming from Iran, including weapons and money.

2) To marginalize bin Laden. This theory tries to maximize the impact of the Saddamists at the expense of the real trouble-makers--the Islamists, who remain the largest threat to a Shia-ruled Iraq and peace in the region at large.

3) Because it's true. The former regime had plenty of time to organize the insurgency, which included assistance from friendly players such as al Qaeda/bin Laden and bribed world leaders. They still have plenty of cash in the shoebox and remain the greatest threat to a Shia-based Iraqi government, and remain the best hope of the new caliphate.

4) The Bilderbergers told them to after being directed by the aliens.

I'm not picking #4, but then again there's not a stand-out choice among the first three, either.

MORE 7/2/06

This story, although perhaps of suspect origin, does seem to solidify the notion many had about Zarqawi's teetering role towards the end. While his widow might think his death was part of a deal including the Coalition (why wouldn't she?) if there was a conspiracy it's much more likely to have involved a strategic decision made by the enemy based on her thug husband's carelessness, ie, a hit by his Sunni handlers.

The tricky part is whether bin Laden would have been involved in such a planning session. Judging by his touching eulogy and recent proclamations it would seem the answer is yes. Then again, UBL hasn't had much of an effect on anything of late and his rhetoric could be designed to throw the dogs off the rabbit.

MORE 7/4/06

Surely this man is on Iraq's new list. After all, they were the ones who initially made the connection between the former dictator and 9/11.