BBC: Baghdad Blast Kills Iraq Leader (Ezzedine Salim - Head of IGC)

[VolcanoJen]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3720161.stm

No comment from coalition officials as of yet.

Excerpt:

The head of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council has been killed in a car bomb blast near the headquarters of the US-led coalition in Baghdad.

Ezzedine Salim was killed as he was waiting to enter the compound, Iraq's deputy foreign minister told Reuters; several other people also died.

A big column of smoke rose into the sky after the blast at about 0530 GMT.

Original, breaking story here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x560198

on edit: photo added

[bluestateguy]

1. CNNI now confirming

[MnFats]

BBC now says eight dead n/t

...

[Vladimir]

20. BBC story here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3720161.stm

[VolcanoJen]

2. Kick... this is an enormous setback for the Iraq Gov Council

Why is it that only CNN International is carring this developing story live right now?

[AnnitaR]

3. Things just keep getting better over there everyday.

No one is safe in that country.

[kaitykaity]

4. See the rest of the IGC scatter

to the winds. Or see them all move into Bremer's
compound. Just when you think it can't get any worse,
it gets worse.

[loudsue]

6. Yep, kaity, and it's nowhere NEAR over yet.

Bush has screwed things up so bad....soooo bad....I don't know if the U.S. OR Iraq will ever recover from all this mess. So many dead, for no reason whatsoever. Bush won't even get to steal their oil. He can't even steal without screwing it up, even with the most powerful army in the world.

What a total loser we have squatting in the white house.

:kick:

[AZCat]

9. Sometimes I wonder if this is all planned...

So they will have plenty of excuses for perpetual war, plenty of reasons to ratchet our protections down to a constitutional minimum (thanks Scalia), and plenty of opportunities to use fear as a lever to perpetrate their scam on the American people.

But that would take a very cynical person to believe all that...

[slaveplanet]

13. they have no intention

of handing over their prize....The IGC is only a puppet, with no real power over the US forces....the Iraqi population aren't fooled...and voila...this is what you get...

[callous taoboy]

32. No, I don't think so:

This is a classic clusterfuck that is on par with Vietnam. They thought they had it wired.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

41. So at what time today will Bush appear with his...

"...we will stay the course and finish the job we started in Iraq, because democracy for the Iraqi people benefits the entire world" speech?

[shockingelk]

5. haven't reached bottom apparently...

Approval of prison tactics by high-level officials confirmed ... Indian stock market crashes ... Head of IGC assassinated ... dizzy!

[truthisfreedom]

7. what a nightmare! we're trapped in hell... a solutionless problem that

might take down our entire country.

bush and co will go down in history as the worst president and administration ever. what a total loser and fool... he did to our country exactly what he did to every damned business he ever ran into the ground...

[JoFerret]

33. Give it 20 plus years

and you could be right.

[VolcanoJen]

8. Ezzedine Salim was also known as Abdel Zahra Osman Mohammad

Here are two recent news articles concerning Salim:

The Australian - Execution, abuse not linked - Bush

Ezzedine Salim, this month's chief of the Iraq Governing Council, insisted that "decapitations and mutilations are unacceptable and have nothing to do with Islam".

LA Times - Political Players to Figure Greatly in Interim Iraqi Regime

Ezzedine Salim, president of the Governing Council, said most council members wanted to see government ministries remain divided among different political parties. The council also wanted some groups that were not represented to be added.

"We need to reduce the opposition to the government so it should include and represent all political strands," said Salim, a Shiite from the Dawa party.

[abracadabra]

23. this was a very wise man--QUITE A LOSS-I heard him on PRI

on the radio speaking about Iraq and plans for the future--

He was wise, well spoken, extremely likable, and had the BEST of intentions for the IRAQ people a
nd might I add, SPOKE DIRECTLY about NOT Turning over the IRAQI OIL--
IS THIS WHAT GOT HIM KILLED?
The U.S. wanted to trade him in on a better puppet?
What a shame-
I really enjoyed listening to him speak and learned quite alot-
I really have a feeling this was NOT a resistance move but a coordinated hit by those currently in charge in IRAQ.

It really saddens me--
I mean REALLY ALOT--
It really hurts when some of our finest humans on the planet are murdered

[Just Me]

48. I am also saddened by this loss.

He did appear to be motivated to act in the best interests of his people and willing to oppose actions he viewed as detrimental.

What a terribly mess the Bush Regime has created.

[pfitz59]

10. So is June 30th still on?

I wanna hear dim son talk his way outta this!

[radfringe]

25. dim son talk his way outta this

simple...

1. Bremer photo op with Iraq puppets
2. bush* making some announcement (another photo op)
3. declare victory
4. walk away and invade Iran/Syria (I think they are next on the list)

although I doubt if they can be that stupid as to put up a banner or back drop that says "Victory in Iraq" or "mission accomplished"...
but -- I may be mistaken

they may have a banner/backdrop that says "Victory FOR Iraqi people"

[dArKeR]

11. IMPEACHMENT and Crimes Against Humanity against Bush Adm. is

our moral and honest duty as citizens of The United States of America. It is our responsibility to God and Humanity and to the history of our great nation.

[Zhade]

27. Agreed.

So, how do we do it?

[Mace]

49. I think so too

eom

[Pachamama]

12. Maybe he took up Powell's comment about Iraq requesting the US Leave

...and this was their answer...

:tinfoilhat: :evilfrown:

[VolcanoJen]

14. CNN link here...

CNN International reports that Sallim was in a car, waiting to enter the Coalition Compound in the Baghdad Green Zone.

Car bomb kills Iraqi Governing Council leader

Excerpt:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council was among several people killed Monday by a car bomb near Baghdad's Green Zone, a senior coalition military official said.

According to Iraqi Governing Council sources, council President Izzedine Salim was on his way into the Green Zone, which houses coalition headquarters, when he was killed.

The explosion occurred at about 9:45 a.m. about 200 meters (656 feet) west of coalition checkpoint No. 12.

[sofa king]

15. Car bombings are bad news.

Because car bombings are almost invariably politically, rather than religiously, motivated. If you're religiously motivated you can always find some REMF chump to do God's will for you. If you want to kill a special someone, particularly with an inefficient, awkward, and indescriminate car bomb, you're doing it for money--and money almost always comes from politically motivated planners rather than zealots.

Find who did it and follow the money and I think you will find a political motivation behind the assassination. I don't think we'll be given the opportunity to do either before the incident becomes irrelevant.

[tkmorris]

21. Good analysis that

Although at this early stage it is difficult to tell exactly what the circumstances were. It may be that the perpetrators simply found it impossible to get anyone close enough to do the deed and used an explosive either planted locally or on the car as a simpler option. The proximity to the Green Zone entry seems to indicate that the bomb was placed in the location rather than on the car itself and remotely detonated.

[sofa king]

26. Yep. And someone's going to slap a "secret" label on this whole thing.

There will be "a public investigation forthcoming" which will be anything but. And someone profited handsomely from it, too. Back in the 80's, the CIA lost a lot of money and prestige--and innocent lives--on indiscriminate car bombings (did I spell it right this time?) in Lebanon.

Could this be Chalabi's foot in the door? We know he's looking for one.

[saigon68]

29. Chalabi did it.

Like a mafia don--- he has a lot to gain through this.

After all he is head of one of the 5 families of Baghdad

[Borgnine]

16. Damn.

Just... damn.

There really is no end to this, is there? No reason for it in the first place, and no end to it. Just a perpetual mess, and another life lost for no reason whatsoever.

The Bush Administration deserves to be behind bars. What vile, repugnant scum they are.

[dave29]

17. If they can get him, they can get whoever they want

Bremer might want to catch the next chopper.

[AnnitaR]

18. Was Salim a Shia?

This is going to be another very bad day for the Iraqi people.

[Pachamama]

24. Yes, he (was) Shite Muslim

[Leilani]

19. One person, George W.Bush waged an elective, unnecessary war

& look at the death & destruction!

Iraqis, Americans, our allies, dead, wounded, maimed.

Because of 1 clueless man, a corrupt election, & the Supreme Court.

[tabasco]

38. Don't forget the leaders of the military industries.

The war profiteering corporations are running the country right now. Bush is just a stuffed shirt, like Reagan. Never an original thought, just read the script they give you and act like a cowboy.

[tinanator]

40. interesting point

But let us remember how Clarence Thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall. There were other witnesses besides Anita Hill who were kept out of the public process by a Democratic controlled judiciary committee, and that POS was approved, a MASSIVE slap in the face to civil rights advocates and the history they shared. Not to mention the most aggregious SCOTUS decision in our lifetimes. There is blood enough for all here.
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~govdoc/thomas/part1.html

[saracat]

22. Busch has

screwed us now! But of course ergo, we have the excuse of only partially turning over autonomy to the Iraqis. They clearly (snicker) aren't ready.

[leftchick]

28. Photo of car bomb carnage....

U.S. Army soldiers secure the area after the head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed in a car bombing near a U.S. checkpoint in central Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Monday, May 17, 2004. Izzadine Saleem was among four Iraqis killed in the blast. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

[dbt]

30. Good Morning IRAQ NAM!

Except for the desert uniforms and the new-style helmets, that picture could be straight outta Saigon in the late 60s!

:freak:
dbt

[maddezmom]

31. it should be shocking

but sadly since it's happening everyday accross Iraq...it is not.

[htuttle]

34. Oh Christ...Looks like we're going to need some more IGC guys

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

42. Correction: we're going to need some more "fungible" IGC guys...

Let's not forget Rummy's admonition that "Oh, come on. People are fungible. You can have them here or there."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0421-02.htm

[Not a robought]

35. This begs the question:

What is the point of "coalition" forces being in Iraq if they cannot ensure the security, much less the rule of an Iraqi governing head?

[Aidoneus]

36. Puppetry:--more dangerous health risk than smoking and cholesterol

It seems strange for the leader of an Islamic party to link his fate with the most aggressive enemies of Islam.. but then there are hypocrites and opportunists all over, perhaps like the others he felt that he had to hide behind the tanks of the invader to make up for a lack of popular support.

[Beetwasher]

37. It Was Only A Matter of Time

Who didn't see this coming?

[SoFlaJet]

39. Where's his protectors?

CIA agents had to be on him-WTF is going on Sheesh this Admin.loves the chaos keeps the prisoner abuse scandal off the front page.

[saigon68]

45. A few Civilian Mercenaries also bit the dust

Remember the White SUV's 5 of them took a hit. There was not enough of the Puppet to drag through the streets. Chalabi is back too. Look for him to consolidate his position as Chief Puppet Ruler (CPR)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

43. I wonder if Chalabi will get that head job--NOT! IGC Council going

chiefs quicker than drummers for Spinal Tap.

[daleo]

44. I wonder how much protection these IGC members get

Is this just bad luck, or did someone let down their guard? And how many people know the schedules of Iraqi Governing Council members? Chalabi was starting to take some political heat in the U.S. lately (veiled at times, but still there). With this killing he will probably reassert his prominence. So many possibilities - I note the group which took responsibility was one of those "previously unknown" groups.

[Merlin]

46. Bingo. Security for the check point was abysmal.

The IGC members vehicles have to queue up every morning to go thru the check point, and they do so in a very unsafe area.

Chalabi's car was 3 ahead of this one and had just passed thru.

Why did we permit such failed security? Somebody is an idiot!

[goodhue]

47. What a quagmire! n/t

[Jacobin]

50. Puppet officials in Iraq will have the life expectancy of a fly

They are doomed.

[Nyati13]

51. Funeral

I saw a picture of his coffin (on MSNBC.com), and it had the old Iraqi flag on it, not the new blue and yellow stupidity that was put forward recently.

Jeremy

[Zomby Woof]

52. kick

Didn't realize I posted a dupe of this, so I want the original to get some more notice...