Word: allawi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...What's more, the results of the ICRSS May survey suggest that the new president and prime minister had both been slipping in Iraqis' estimation - in a similar poll conducted last September, Allawi had ranked Number 10 out of 25, and al-Yawer Number...
...Iraqis have such a poor opinion of Allawi? Sadoun al-Dulame, executive director of the ICRSS, pointed to one reason: "Every newspaper that has reported about his appointment has mentioned his CIA connection." Although Allawi has sniped at the U.S.-led Coalition in recent months, it's his ties to Langley that seem to have registered with Iraqis. (His organization, the Iraqi National Accord, is funded by the CIA.) "He's a CIA man, like [Ahmed] Chalabi," said Raed Abu Hassan, a Baghdad University political science post-grad. "In this country, CIA connections are political poison." It doesn't help...
...Since Allawi will be the one running the government, his lack of popularity could be especially problematic. The danger, say some commentators, is that his entire administration may be undermined by association. "The selection of Allawi means that the very first step towards June 30 is a misstep," said Sheikh Mohammed Basher al-Faidi, spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars, the most powerful grouping of Sunni clergy. "And when the first step is wrong, then the journey is bound to be a difficult...
...Tainted by his CIA association, Allawi may find it hard to reach out to groups such as al-Faidi's, that have a substantial following among Iraqis. "We can offer him advice if he asks for it," says al-Faidi. "But we can't put our hands in his hands. Iraqi people would regard us as traitors...
...Like many Iraqis, al-Faidi blames the Americans - and especially CPA boss Paul Bremer - for Allawi's appointment. But many also finger Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy who was charged with helping select the new government. Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Governing Council, was pulling no punches. "After weeks and weeks of talking with all sorts of Iraqis, he goes and picks somebody from the GC?" he said. "What was the point of this long, complicated exercise, all those long consultations? And what happened to his ideas about picking technocrats to run the new government?" Asked whether Allawi...