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| Iraq |
| Ba’ath Bankrupt |
| 2003-08-19 |
| EFL BARRING a last-minute miracle, the pan-Arab Baath Socialist Party, one of Jordan’s oldest political organizations, is expected to file for bankruptcy within the next few weeks. The party’s headquarters in Amman is a scene of daily demonstrations by creditors waving unpaid bills. To make matters worse, the party has to finance the repatriation from Iraq of over 3,000 Jordanian and Palestinians students it had sponsored. The students were sent to Iraq with scholarships from the Baathist regime in Baghdad; Iraq paid the Jordanian party $600 a year for each student. But last month, the newly appointed Iraqi Governing Council scrapped the scheme as part of a broader de-Baathification program. Bahahahaha! "We are in a tight spot," says Ahmad al-Najdawi, a party leader. "People don’t understand that no more money is flowing [from Iraq]." Don’t they read the papers? Two prominent Lebanese pan-Arabists have fled to France to avoid paying the mobs they hired for pro-Saddam demonstrations in Beirut last winter. And other pro-Saddam Baathists are facing unpaid bills for anti-war demonstrations they organized in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt. At the time, those efforts were seen in the West as a sign that the "Arab street" was about to explode against the U.S.-led coalition. The Arab Street(tm) was just another rent-a-mob. Before he went into hiding last April, Saddam Hussein held 55 posts. One was secretary-general of the Arab Baath Socialist Party (ABSP). The party’s program was aimed at creating a single pan-Arab state, stretching from Mauritania to Oman, led by Saddam. The ABSP claimed to have branches in all Arab states. But it was only in Jordan, the West Bank, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco and Yemen that it had a visible presence. Some pro-Saddam Baathists outside Iraq are already engaged in talks to switch to the rival branch of the party controlled by Syria. But that is no sure thing either. In a timid step away from one-party rule, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last month ordered his branch of the Baath to distance itself from the government. In any case, Syria lacks the financial resources of Iraq and is itself dependent on handouts from Saudi Arabia and Iran among others. Syria is walking around with a tin cup asking for handouts "What matters is to keep the flame of pan-Arabism burning," says Taysir al-Khamsi, leader of Jordan’s pro-Saddam faction. "We have lost Iraq to the enemy and must get together not to lose Syria." I’m sure that your support will be of great comfort to them. There was a time, in the 1950s, when the Baath appeared as the rising star of Arab politics. Founded in 1947 by a group of French-educated Syrian and Lebanese intellectuals, the Baath (meaning renaissance) offered a synthesis of fascism and communism. There are our good allies the French again. Some Arab pundits believe that the fall of Saddam’s regime has spelled the end of Baathism as a political factor in the life of the Arabs. "Baathism died long ago, maybe as early as 1965 when it became a cover for military juntas," says Saleh al-Qallab, a Jordanian former information minister. "For years, Iraqi money enabled the Baath to maintain a presence. With Saddam gone, that presence will fade." No wonder they were all backing Sammy. Baathists are not the only political and financial orphans left by Saddam. The Iraqi dictator financed hundreds of journalists, and supposedly independent politicians in virtually all Arab countries. Documents seized from the Iraqi Cultural Office in London include lists that read like a who’s who of pan-Arab intellectual elite. Oooo, documents! I just love the way fascist regimes keep detailed records, it makes the trials so much fun. Over the years, Saddam financed dozens of Arab publications, including weeklies and dailies based in Beirut, Paris and London. Some prominent Arab journalists received "presidential presents" in the form of luxury homes in Europe, expensive cars and costly gold watches, the standard Arab gift. Iraqi groups studying the documents estimate that Saddam spent more than $1 billion over 20 years to buy prominent Arabs, and finance Arab parties and politicians devoted to his personality cult. Arab writers were paid millions of dollars to produce hagiographical accounts of Saddam’s life. Film-makers and TV producers received cash in exchange for footage devoted to the "Great Leader of Arabs." And now that money well has gone dry. Saddam also financed militant Palestinian groups, notably Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and terrorists such as Sabri al-Banna, Muhammad Abbas and Ahmad Jibril. In 2001, Saddam also started channeling funds to the Lebanese branch of the Hezbollah (Party of God). The list of those who benefited from Saddam’s handouts includes several Iranian opposition groups, including the Mujahedin Khalq (People’s Combatants) and the Iranian Kurdish Communist Party, both of which are classified as "terrorist organizations" by the United States and several European governments. Tell me again how the war on Saddam hurt the war on terror? Documents now being studied by the Iraqi research group also reveal that Saddam had a network of support in several European countries, notably Britain, France and Austria. At least three French political parties received financial contributions from Saddam between 1975 and 1990. Several prominent French politicians, including former Cabinet ministers, received money from Saddam. Several British politicians, including at least one member of parliament, were among the recipients of Saddam’s largesse. George Galloway, your check just bounced. Conducted by several groups, the current work on Saddam’s secret documents is largely chaotic. It is, perhaps, time for the Governing Council to take control of the project and make sure that the seized documents are not used, and abused, for selective leaks and the settling of personal scores. All those in favor of leaks and the settling of scores, please raise your hands. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #6 Ya mean...they took a ba'ath? Well somebody had to say it, |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-8-19 9:44:33 PM |
| #5 The economic efficiencies of communism, along with the down-home friendliness of the Nazis... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-8-19 4:28:51 PM |
| #4 "...the Ba’ath (meaning renaissance) offered a synthesis of fascism and communism." Gee, what's not to like about that combination. A lot of syngergy can be generated and then spiced with the progressive precepts of Islam. Like Emeril- BAM, let's kick it up a notch! |
| Posted by: Craig 2003-8-19 4:16:50 PM |
| #3 Lebanese pan-Arabists have fled to France to avoid paying the mobs There's more than one mob? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-19 2:25:04 PM |
| #2 At last! An economic collapse you CAN blame on George Bush. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-8-19 1:55:31 PM |
| #1 fled to France ? What a surprise! (/sarcasm) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-19 11:16:40 AM |