Leadership Hanging in the Balance

by emptywheel

There are a number of fascinating things about the NYT's narrative of Saddam's hanging. There's the way they list the Iraqis who worked on the story.

David E. Sanger contributed reporting from Washington, and Iraqi employees of The New York Times from Baghdad.

(Okay, not fascinating--but telling.)

There's the description of the pre-execution "celebration" dinner.

At the “White House,” as his officials now describe Mr. Maliki’s headquarters in the Green Zone, a celebratory dinner began Friday night even before the Americans withdrew their threat not to hand over Mr. Hussein.

("And today for dessert, we're serving Hanged Dictator, with raspberry puree and whipped cream on the side.")

But most fascinating to me is the description of how the absence of Zalmay Khalilzad and General George Casey made it easier for Maliki and his allies to get their way (at least as portrayed by the NYT, which does seem to have a bit of American revisionism to it).

At first, the story suggests the US was unified in opposing the rushed execution, but the absence of Khalilzad and Casey prevented the US from persuading the Iraqis.

It is a story of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, trying to coerce second-tier American military and diplomatic officials into handing over Mr. Hussein, first on Thursday night, then again on Friday. The American push back was complicated by the absences of Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the top American military commander, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who were both out of Iraq on leave. The American message throughout was that rushing Mr. Hussein to the gallows could rebound disastrously, as it did.

But then, in the very next paragraph, the NYT suggests some disagreement among the Americans--and blames Khalilzad for the decision to let the Iraqis go forward with the execution. That is--it suggests Khalilzad is the one who sided with the Iraqis. (Note, I'm not sure this is what the US ought to be doing with its rising UN Ambassador, to paint him as favorable to Kangaroo Court executions, but that's just me.)

It is a story, too, of the Americans disagreeing among themselves. After a final call to Mr. Maliki at 10:30 p.m. Friday, American and Iraqi officials said, Mr. Khalilzad concluded that there was no prospect of persuading the Iraqis to delay the execution and passed that message to Washington. The conclusion found little favor with the military, who were the ones who had to transport Mr. Hussein to the gallows.

This ambiguity continues throughout the article. Again, later, the article suggests it was the vacuum of power left by Casey and Khalilzad--off on their "vacation"--that resulted in the sloppy handling of the execution.

On the Thursday before the hanging, American military officials were summoned. Both Mr. Khalilzad and General Casey were on vacation, so the American team handling negotiations with Mr. Maliki and his officials was headed by Maj. Gen. Jack Gardner, head of Task Force 134, the detainee unit, and Margaret Scobey, head of the embassy’s political section.

Iraqi officials said neither carried much weight with Mr. Maliki, who had learned through bruising confrontations to be wary of alienating Mr. Khalilzad and General Casey, both of whom have direct access to President Bush. At the Thursday afternoon meeting, tempers frayed. According to an Iraqi legal expert at the meeting, Iraqi officials demanded that the Americans hand over Mr. Hussein that night, for an execution before dawn on Friday.

Though, as portrayed by the NYT, Casey and Khalilzad did remain involved in negotiations.

In Phoenix, 10 time zones away, General Casey was monitoring the exchanges in signals traffic from Baghdad.

[snip]

At 10:30 p.m., Ambassador Khalilzad made a last-ditch call to Mr. Maliki asking him not to proceed with the hanging. When the Iraqi leader remained adamant, an American official said, the ambassador made a second call to Washington conveying “the determination of the Iraqi prime minister to go forward,” and his conclusion that there was nothing more, consistent with respect for Iraqi sovereignty, that the United States could do.

And just after pinning the blame on Khalilzad, the article reveals that his boss, Condi Rice, is the one who really gave the green light for the execution.

Senior Bush administration officials in Washington said that Mr. Khalilzad’s principal contact in Washington was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and that she gave the green light for Mr. Hussein to be turned over, despite the reservations of the military commanders in Baghdad. One official said that Ms. Rice was supported in that view by Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser.

(I can't help but imagine what kind of black leather outfit Condi might choose if she were to attend a pre-execution celebration dinner. Perhaps she considers a thuggish execution as one more birth pang to a new Middle East?)

In short, this article offers a jumbled picture of Casey's and Khalilzad's role in the execution, at times blaming the US decision to turn over Saddam on their involvement, at others blaming the US inability to dissuade the Iraqis on their absence, and at times suggesting Khalilzad is the scapegoat for Condi, who actually made the decision.

And finally, just once in the article do they hint at the curious coincidence of timing here.

For General Casey and Mr. Khalilzad, close partners here, the messy ending for Mr. Hussein was made worse by the confirmation this week that Mr. Bush will soon replace both men as he refashions his Iraq war policy.

Casey and Khalilzad were already on the kind of "vacation" that marks the beginning of retirement (in the Casey's case) or a new gig (in Khalilzad's case--which might explain why he plays the role of scapegoat in this article). There's actually a distinct possibility they already had been canned (note the NYT's use of the word "confirmation"), yet the decision hadn't been announced publicly (and it's even more likely that those intimately involved could read in their curiously timed "vacations" a newfound ability to ignore Casey and Khalilzad as no longer relevant). Did we have men with no legal authority or no remaining credibility negotiating over the Saddam execution?

The coincidence of timing suggests two possibilities the article doesn't explicitly consider. First, are the US press representatives preparing to blame the nastiness of the execution on Casey and Khalilzad as a way to absolve those still in the chain of command in Iraq, including Condi?

More disturbingly, though, this suggests a possible side effect of Bush's pre-escalation firings. At least according to the article, Khalilzad and Casey exerted significant influence over Maliki, partly because they had a direct line to the President, and partly because they were willing to confront Maliki directly. How long is it going to take until their replacements have the same kind of influence? How many incidents of sectarian revenge are the Americans going to condone in the name of Iraqi sovereignty between now and then? In an urge to give his escalation a fresh face, did Bush just get rid of the two guys who could prevent the Maliki government from enacting government-sanctioned revenge killings?

If you look at the thuggish execution as Maliki's response to the recall of Khalilzad and Casey, it bodes ill for any progress in Iraq.

Comments

[oldtree]

our government employees having a celebratory dinner prior to the execution, doesn't sound out of bounds. can you imagine the toasts that were made? who would be pleased at mass murder? who would celebrate?
and the idea that iraq is a war? why do we of this early 21st century not understand the meaning of war? did we forget? wars are the result of failed diplomacy and are (in last 100 years) thought of to be bad, and all parties do their best to end them as soon as possible. this is not a war. it is a land grab that hasn't worked out real well.
why would they continue to act as though above the law? why would they deny document production, and in some cases deny that the documents exist at all? Why would they deny events occurred? can't do that unless you are sure you have the only copy of the video that shows what happened. they kill the witnesses.
these people don't do anything unless it is good for their pockets. renewable energy is not good, can't control it. note that in some places, american companies have bought the water rights, all the water rights, in foreign nations. The rights to the rain that falls people, all the water. how do you feel about that? think it won't happen here?

our country is clearly run by organized crime. if the libby trial does go on as scheduled, millions that are still in doubt or denial are going to have a chance to see for themselves. there can't be any good to come from this trial for the people in power. and as such, I find it hard to believe that the trial will ever begin.

on thing we must encourage though, allow the putz to replace the competent with the non. condi to replace dick? good. she is so deep in the conspiracy that she will spend the remainder of her life in jail, if not executed. when you hear about the replacement of VP by someone not among their circle, you know what is coming next. pardons.

it is at this time when, we, the people, may join in some kind of unity and demand action. some will ask for "healing" and be apologetic, and say it won't happen again. those people will be our enemies. traitors that want the status quo for their own personal gain. remember, there is a huge percentage of people in this country that live by bribery and coercion. It is used upon them in their daily lives, and they do it to others below them as a result of it being "the way it is"

the "way it is" is what must change.

[clueless]

The American push back was complicated by the absences of Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the top American military commander, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who were both out of Iraq on leave.

Sorry, empywheel, but as anybody who has ever worked as a Federal employee knows, you NEVER call a person at home when he/she is on "annual" or "sick" leave. Ya just don't. Nothing is that important. Ya just wait until that employee comes back from leave. If it IS that important, you just go to that employee's supervisor for assistance. That's just the way it is in Federal employment.

Oh, and by the way: In Phoenix, 10 time zones away, General Casey was monitoring the exchanges in signals traffic from Baghdad. Why is a General monitoring the stoplights in Baghdad - too much rush hour traffic getting backed up at red lights????? (Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we're having difficulties in Iraq - generals are fucking around with the stoplights in Baghdad rather than managing the war!)

[Le Jackel]

Actually Casey is not retiring. He has been nominated for Secretary of the Army. Which is odd when you think about it.

[Dick Durata]

Le Jackel, I believe Casey is to be the Army Chief of Staff (military commander of the entire army), the Secretary of the Army would be a civilian position.
In the Bush administration the price of failure is... promotion.

[smiley]

clueless: ha ha ha, that's a great post. Don't call federal employees on holiday leave! ha ha ha ha. Have you ever had Kaiser Permanente health care? Their admin staff works the same way- nothing gets done between thanksgiving and new years, because even though the peons might be there, enough managers are on vacation that nobody can make a decision about anything.

Too bad for Saddam that Iraq isn't actually just a US colony, or your post about federal gov't work habits might have saved his life.

[Mimikatz]

Petraeus is the new Casey, and Casey is the new Schoonmaker. One assumes Petraeus wouldn;t take the job without direct access to the President, no?

Put this together with the rumors that Negroponte went to State to be next in line for the Secretary's job when Condi becomes . . . ta da! Vice President after Cheney resigns due to ill health. Discussed here as well.

[emptywheel]

Mimikatz

Yes, but how many thuggish executions until Petraeus develops a close (read, imposing) relationship with Maliki?

[freepatriot]

Saddam's execution was a clusterfuck, so what's new ???

george bush has a perfect record in Iraq

It's a complete clusterfuck, right up to the Commander In Chief

the good news is that supporting the troops no longer includes supporting the Commander In Chief's foolish idea of escalation

so support our troops

oppose clusterfuck george every chance you get

[Mimikatz]

'Wheel: Maybe Maliki will be out before he has time to develop a relationship with Petraeus.

Here's an interesting take on the need to deal with insurgents and the possibility of an alliance between al-Sadr and the Sunni insurgents to get of both Maliki and us.

[SharonW]

Hugely OT - But I was wondering if you saw this, emptywheel:

Intel: A Writer's Blocked

Newsweek
Jan. 15, 2007 issue - A CIA panel has told former officer Valerie Plame she can't write about her undercover work for the agency, a position that may threaten a lucrative book project with her publisher. Plame's outing as a CIA officer in July 2003 triggered a criminal probe that culminates next week when Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby goes on trial for perjury and obstruction.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16498076/site/newsweek/

Man, I hope her lawyers are able to work this out.

[Fred]

signals traffic has nothing to do with traffic lights. The only person who could have stopped this is GWB, not Casey.

[Mary]

The inadvertent humor in the piece is Casey giving an off the cuff lecture on international law.

I guess Maliki could have mentioned the US officer on the indictment list in Italy and the multiple European investigations and the British coroner's finding of illegal killing by US forces and the Dilawar death and GITMO and the special Rumsfeld units and Bagram and buying people in Pakistan and the Chinese Uighurs and Abu Ghraib and white phosphorus and domestic propaganda and perhaps he could even have suggested that instead of hanging Hussein the would instead stuff him into a sleeping bag to partly suffocate at intervals over several days and beat him over those same days until the torture eventually takes its toll and he dies --- but they will give the torturers a 60 day ankle bracelet home arrest in the Green Zone, near the pool, in accordance with the US concepts of International Law.

[clueless]

signals traffic has nothing to do with traffic lights

SharonW: it was supposed to be a joke!

OTOH, for as goofy as this Administration is - maybe it's NOT a joke!

[prostratedragon]

Actually Casey is not retiring. He has been nominated for Secretary of the Army. Which is odd when you think about it.

But it does keep him quiet, unless he decides actually to resign. I'm not sure what the consequences for him would be of resigning when he has a new set of orders pending.

[Juno888]

That is--it suggests Khalilzad is the one who sided with the Iraqis. ...