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A Thousand and One Chalabis

Posted by Maggie (Guest) - Monday, August 15 2005, 18:09:32 (CEST) from 4.246.217.60 - dialup-4.246.217.60.Dial1.SanJose1.Level3.net Network - Windows NT - Internet Explorer Website: Website title:

A THOUSAND AND ONE CHALABIS Malcom Lagauche PICTURE of DEMONSTRATION Many Chaldeans attended this April 2003 pro-war "victory" celebration. Few are celebrating today August 15, 2005 Ahmed Chalabi is again looking good. He was the chosen one for the U.S. to replace Saddam Hussein. However, he fell out of favor and about a year ago was a non-entity in Iraq. But, Chalabi is like the proverbial cat with nine lives, except he outdoes our feline friend many times over. Six months ago, without fanfare, Chalabi was named the Oil Minister of Iraq. He had his hands near the cookie jar. About two months ago, a new ministry was created and he was named its chief; the Ministry of Energy. His hands are now firmly inside the cookie jar. I have known of Ahmed Chalabi for about a decade. His organization (started and funded by the Clinton administration), the Iraqi National Congress (INC), has followers in the city of El Cajon, California, a metropolis of more than 100,000 inhabitants located just outside San Diego. El Cajon, with surrounding towns, is home to almost 30,000 Iraqi expatriates, mostly Chaldeans, Iraqi Christians. Before I go into the aspects of the Iraqi community in El Cajon, let me give you a little background of the city. El Cajon, like many American cities, is now experiencing the plight of having a decayed downtown with expanding suburbs. Much of the old city center is now being torn down and replaced with coffee shops and antique markets. Right in the middle is a four-story jailhouse, of which the city administration is so proud that the city’s official postcard depicts the correctional institute. I know of no other city that showcases its jail as representing the city: no flowers or scenic views on the postcard; just a brick four-story jail. The mayor and city council consist of conservative Republicans who usually try to sneak items on the agenda that would incorporate religion (the Christian version) into government. A vigilant ACLU and Malcom Lagauche, along with concerned citizens, have thwarted some of the stealth items. The Congressman for El Cajon is Duncan Hunter, now the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter, on October 10, 1990, went on nationwide television and became the first person to tell the fabricated story of the Iraqi soldiers killing babies in Kuwait. That story went a long way in convincing the American public that war against Iraq was necessary. After it was exposed as a lie, Hunter has never apologized to the public for his deceit. In addition, Hunter, since 1991, has been an advocate of "nuking" Iraq to make the problem go away once and for all. A few days ago, because I live in his jurisdiction (the 52nd Congressional District) I received Hunter’s monthly newsletter. He told of a recent trip to Iraq and extolled the virtues of a now "free Iraq." The irony is that if he visited Iraq under the dastardly dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, he would have been able to check into a hotel and then go anywhere in the city of Baghdad without being accosted. He could have eaten at any restaurant and visited any museum without fear of bodily harm. Now, his life expectancy would be measured in minutes if he walked down any Baghdad street in the "free and democratic Iraq" that he helped engineer. His recent visit, of course, only consisted of him visiting the heavily-guarded "Green Zone," the area of Baghdad that is surrounded by concrete walls, U.S. tanks, and many soldiers, with helicopters flying overhead. The County Supervisor for El Cajon is Dianne Jacob, another conservative Republican known for her racist and homophobic views. A few years ago, she and Hunter, in front of an audience of 700 rabid cheering people, received an award from the Boy Scouts of America for their anti-homosexual and anti-atheist views. In the 1990s, I became involved with some of the politics of El Cajon. While I was the editor of a weekly newspaper in 1992, I received an anonymous telephone call about a reporter who was fired by the El Cajon newspaper, The Daily Californian. I followed up and discovered that a reporter from the paper ran a feature article about homeless kids, some as young as 12 years old, living in the sewers of El Cajon. It was a brilliant piece of investigative journalism. When the article appeared, then El Cajon Mayor Joan Shoemaker was irate and she called the paper’s publisher in upstate New York and demanded he fire the reporter. The publisher, who called the reporter when the story emerged and commended him on the piece, then called him again to fire him. I ran a feature story on the affair. I called Shoemaker’s office to get her comments. When her assistant asked me why I wanted to talk to the mayor, I told her the subject. I was told, "Hold on for a moment please." The assistant did not know that she had not pushed the correct button on her telephone to put me on hold, so I heard her talk to Shoemaker and tell her about my call. Shoemaker then said, "Tell him I’m not here." When the assistant gave me the message, I thanked her. My story was a blockbuster. The media in San Diego County picked it up and ran with it. I included the part about Shoemaker being there and telling her assistant that she was not. Her statement became a cause celebre in the media. Not only had I uncovered her plot to have a person fired, but I also chronicled her deceit in not wanting to talk about it. I used up a few minutes of my allocated 15 minutes of fame. Shortly after, an acquaintance who worked for the City of El Cajon called me to tell that there was an internal announcement to city employees not to talk to me in the future. I was proud of such a proclamation. A few years later, I did battle with Shoemaker again. She wrote an article in which she advocated a national law requiring every worker in every workplace in the United States to recite the Lord’s Prayer before work began. I wrote counter articles and she was exposed for her bigoted self. I thought that longwinded introduction was necessary for the meat of this story: the Iraqi involvement in El Cajon. From the 1960s until today, El Cajon has been the chosen area for many Iraqi Chaldean immigrants. Over the years, similar to today, they kind of keep to themselves. They mingle with outsiders during the day while running their businesses, but, after hours, mostly attend their own social functions at the St. Peter’s Chaldean Church or one of the various Iraqi social clubs in town. The Chaldean community specializes in running small businesses. The prime one is that of liquor stores. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, 96% of independent liquor stores in San Diego County are owned and run by Chaldeans. In addition, they also play a major role in the owning of produce shops, electrical shops, and auto mechanic shops in the area. During the 1990s, I became involved with the Iraqi-American community because of my involvement in attempting to have the disastrous embargo against Iraq lifted. What I discovered was an Iraq in miniature in the areas of politics. There were anti-Saddam groups within the community and pro-Saddam factions. Each had its own monthly publication. The Chaldean-Assyrian Federation was a leading anti-Saddam group. It wanted 60% of a post-Saddam Iraq, even though it only represented about 2% of the population. Many of its members worshipped Ahmed Chalabi. In fact, some had visited him and the group was aligned with the INC. Chalabi’s politics and his personality were blatantly evident at the Chaldean-Assyrian Federation. In 1994, a San Diego sportscaster made racist remarks against Arabs and Iraqis. I began to form a coalition of Arabs and concerned people not of Arabic derivation to attend a demonstration against the bigot, so I approached the Chaldean-Assyrian Federation. The father of a good friend of mine was the president. He and his father differed on the subject of Iraq, but these differences should not have come into play when the subject was one of anti-Arab discrimination. On the evening I was to address the Federation and explain the demonstration, there was security fit for a king at the building. When I arrived, I was taken to another building and kept in a small room for about a half hour. I asked what was going on and I was told that they were having a special meeting to vote on whether I should be allowed in or not. Some members thought I was a spy. After the half-hour wait, I was escorted by two guards into Federation’s headquarters. After a few minutes of explaining that I had no agenda other than announcing the demonstration and inviting the group to attend, I gave my blurb. It took about two minutes. Then I left. Almost an hour was spent on James Bond-like activities for me to give an invitation to an anti-discrimination demonstration. I found out that this was common fare for the group. By the way, none of its members showed up to the successful demonstration that was covered by radio and television in the San Diego area. For the next couple of years, I encountered more of the INC people in El Cajon. They exhibited the same paranoid and deceitful traits that have come to represent those of Ahmed Chalabi. I realized their goal was to oust Saddam Hussein. When I asked their view of a new Iraq, not one could tell me anything. It was just, "Get rid of Saddam." I found it quite puzzling that they had no agenda for a post-Saddam Iraq. And, most, similar to Chalabi, had either never lived in Iraq, or they had only lived there for a few years. Things have changed since April 2003, but prior to that time, the social clubs were inhabited by both pro and anti-Saddam factions. Each would sit opposite of each other and play dominoes and drink alcoholic beverages. My previously-mentioned Iraqi friend, an atheist, would go to the clubs and lambaste both sides for their unquestioning affinity to Christianity. The events of April 2003 brought the anti-Saddam Chaldeans to the forefront. The pro-Saddamers kept a low profile. However, many outsiders now came forward and embraced the Chaldean community because of its support of the war against Iraq. These are the same people who, prior to March 2003, would have called the Chaldeans "camel jockeys" or "sand niggers." Duncan Hunter and Dianne Jacob gave speech after speech praising the anti-Saddam Chaldeans for their bravery. Until 2003, both officials ignored the Chaldean community unless there was an issue they could use to further their own agendas. The picture at the top of this article was taken on April 13, 2003. It was from a pro-war demonstration in El Cajon in which a substantial number of Chaldeans participated. The non-Chaldeans were praising war and denigrating anti-war people. They were thrilled that the war was "over" and few Americans lost their lives. The Chaldeans were thrilled because Saddam was gone. A good time was had by all. Today, that parade looks like it was premature. Since then, more than 2,000 Americans have been killed in Iraq and thousands more have been seriously wounded. Saddam’s followers in Iraq did not take kindly to the new imperialists and instituted a "Rope-a-Bush" resistance. I doubt that many of the flag-waving participants in the parade would feel the same way today if another celebration were scheduled. How about the Chaldeans? They are more subdued today than in April 2003. After the ouster of the Ba’ath regime, I asked a few what they thought. Most were thrilled. When I asked one (who never lived in Iraq) the reason for his views, he said, "Saddam stole gold from women." I then asked him if he ever saw documentation of this or if he knew someone who had gold stolen by Saddam Hussein, and he replied, "no." When I asked him how he could make that statement without proof, he just scratched his head and was mute. Over the years, I had no problem with Iraqi-Americans being either anti or pro-Saddam. What bothered me was the lack of concern by the anti-Saddam people about the devastating embargo in place against Iraq. To me, a so-called patriot of any country should be against such an inhumane instrument, no matter who is in power. The anti-Saddamers were so selfish they did not care about the people whom they said they wanted to free. One can not be free if he/she starves to death or dies because of lack of medical treatment: conditions imposed from outside the country. The Chaldean community in El Cajon is close to its church. Ironically, in 1980, the Ba’ath government sent the El Cajon Chaldeans $250,000 to start the construction of the St. Peter’s Church. This was common in those days because the government considered all Iraqi expatriates to be Iraqis and it gave much in financial support to Iraqi expatriate organizations in the U.S. The Gulf War and the ensuing embargo halted all that. The anti-Saddam Chaldeans have kept their selfish attitudes. When the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal erupted, I asked a few what they thought. I pondered that maybe now they would see the global aspect of U.S. imperialism and would begin to consider the overall look at the subject. No, their statements to me were basically, "Fuck ‘em. They’re Muslims and they deserve it." Finally, something happened that has made a few Chaldeans in El Cajon question the overall picture: four churches were blown up in Iraq. The community is aghast. How dare someone blow up churches. For 14 years, the entire country of Iraq has been blown up, bombed, attacked by missiles and destroyed twice over. Hardly a peep from the Chaldean community. Now, four churches were blown up and it’s an international tragedy. There have been meetings and discussions in the Chaldean community about the recent church destruction. Some community members are even questioning the U.S. presence in Iraq. And, a once-unheard statement is being whispered: "This never happened under Saddam." The Chaldean community is back to where it was a few years ago. The politicians who used the Chaldeans in 2002 and 2003 to further their war agenda, are again absent in the community. The Chalabi clones are still in denial about U.S. intentions and they think that the current rift between their mentor and the U.S. government may abate. They fail to realize the real purpose of the alliance and the overall picture of U.S.-Iraq relations. The clubs are still full at night time and the rumors still prevail "Saddam’s daughter committed suicide," "Saddam’s dead. He had a heart attack and we saw a double on TV in the court room." "This is all a plot. Saddam and the CIA are working together." Each day brings new rumors. There is one aspect to the Chaldean community in El Cajon that is extremely positive — food. Iraqi cuisine is fabulous. In El Cajon, several Iraqi restaurants have sprung up in the past couple of years that offer incredible food at reasonable prices. Some are run by pro-Saddam proprietors, while others are headed by anti-Saddam owners. Some have no political opinions. I have tried those run by all the factions and I must admit that they all are great. For less than 10 bucks (including tip) one can munch on a feast of over 20 dishes: various meats, chicken, fish, rice, humus, vegetables and more. About once every other month, I and a dozen or so comrades (atheists, political radicals, and an occasional normal person) of various races and ethnic backgrounds, trek to one of these eating establishments for an afternoon of great food and discussion. On Labor Day (September 5), about 20 of us will make the trip to a newly-opened restaurant, Sinbad’s, on Main Street in El Cajon. Anybody who is interested is invited to attend. --------------------- - BACK TO INDEX - REPLY - QUOTE - EDIT - DELETE -

The full topic: A Thousand and One Chalabis Maggie - Monday, August 15 2005, 18:09:32 (CEST) Thanks, Maggie Jeff - 08/15 20:22 Re: Thanks, Maggie Maggie - 08/15 21:18

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