--- Begin Message ---
from indymedia
CIA PLANS UPRISING IN IRAQ (english)
by pravda 9:51am Sun Mar 3 '02 (Modified on 10:10am Sun Mar 3 '02)
Secret US plans to instigate an uprising in Iraq against the Ba�ath regime
of president Saddam Hussein have been revealed by sources close to the White
House and CIA.
These reports have not been officially confirmed nor denied, but they are so
numerous that everything points towards the veracity of such a plan,
especially at this moment in time, with George Bush referring to Baghdad as
one of the points in the �axis of evil� and numerous senators denouncing the
plans for a military invasion. While analysts claim that such an exercise
would be extremely complicated, especially in the short term, the
instigation of a popular uprising with tacit and covert support from abroad
would be a much easier proposition.
The indications that this is fact and not fantasy are already clear. A
four-man CIA team, led by the agency�s chief officer in Istanbul, contacted
local politicians in Iraqi Kurdistan three weeks ago and approached them as
to their needs in the event of an uprising. The Americans spoke about three
secret destinations for US military aircraft to land, although the �secrecy�
surrounding these airports is classified as a joke in Washington, due to the
fact that the US forces know these bases inside out.
The Iraqi newspaper Al-Hayat claims that a seven-man CIA team is currently
in northern Iraq. Sources in Washington claim that a secret plan to set in
motion an overthrow of the regime, based upon the same lines as the campaign
in Afghanistan, has the support of numerous Congress members. Under this
plan, US military aircraft would bomb Iraqi communications centres (an act
which US and British aircraft already carry out on an almost daily basis),
along with Republican Guard centres and clusters of Iraqi military vehicles.
The Shi�ite forces in the south and the Kurds in the north would then,
heavily armed and supplied by the USA, launch massive attacks on Iraqi army
positions. Such an attempt was made to overthrow the regime in Baghdad after
the Gulf War, but Saddam Hussein had managed to salvage a sufficient number
of his troops to save his regime intact.
Before this plan, a massive media campaign against Saddam Hussein is planned
for domestic consumption. The New York Times claims that the Bush
administration is planning to set up a radio transmitter either in Iraqi
Kurdistan, near the Iranian border, or inside Iran itself, with the
cooperation of the Iranians, who despite being on the �axis of evil� list,
have a common objective with Washington: the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi National Congress (the country�s main opposition force) has had an
office in Teheran for a year, an office which is financed by Washington.
The US administration spends 400,000 USD per year on TV transmissions
supporting the Iraqi opposition. Regarding the diplomatic offensive, the
forthcoming visit of Vice-president Richard (Dick) Cheney to the region will
be used to engage support from Iraq�s neighbours in the overthrow of Saddam
Hussein.
If true, and everything indicates that they are, these plans are a blatant
example of Washington�s continuous policy of interference in the internal
affairs of a sovereign state. One questions what the reaction would be if a
foreign power gave covert support to an uprising by those who claim the
state of Aztlan in the southern USA.
Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY
PRAVDA.Ru
--- End Message ---
