Allawi?!! Been there done that.
Reader comment on item: Iraq: "Could a New Strongman Help?"

Submitted by Francis Brooke (United Kingdom), Nov 24, 2006 at 11:33

Daniel,

Please spare me the CIA stooge. Come on out to Baghdad and find out for yourself; I'm here now and I'll be glad to take care of you. Ayad is never here, has no following despite an outrageous campaign expense with the power of US-installed incumbency, and is no tough man. He is a paid agent of the US as well as utterly corrupt. Why don't you and Burns and Ignatious get some new sources? If the Agency could handle Iraq they would have already.

Democracy remains the only answer and the sooner the US lets Iraqis excersise it freely, with independent intelligence and security and defense policy the sooner Iraq will "stabilize".

Francis Brooke

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Daniel Pipes replies:

If Allawi does not fit the bill, I am open to nominate someone else. I respect Francis Brooke's commitment to Iraq and knowledge of the situation and I agree that democracy is the long-term answer. But there is a crisis now that needs addressing and I believe a strongman is needed for now.