The gang that can't shoot its mouth off straight

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Two weeks ago, Amir Taheri published an op-ed in Canada's National Post about an Iranian law that forced Jews to wear a yellow stripe. The story, reminiscent of Nazi Germany, quickly provoked outrage, but was just as quickly revealed to be a total fabrication. It also ran in the New York Post.

Apparently this is just the sort of reliable advice that President Bush needs. Yesterday, Taheri had a face-to-face with the President as one of a small group of "experts" on Iraq that visited the White House.

Here's the bit from yesterday's White House press briefing with Tony Snow:

Q Can you give us a readout on the President's meeting this morning with the Iraq experts?

MR. SNOW: Yes. Oh, my goodness, I forgot to bring the list. But actually -- do you have the list, Fred? Yes, it was an interesting meeting. What you ended up having was -- I've got all the names but one written down here. We had Wayne Downing, Barry McCaffrey, Michael Vickers, Amir Taheri, Fouad Ajami and Raad Alkadiri. And you had a combination there of military men and also scholars who are students of Iraq. And it was an interesting discussion that touched upon cultural issues, on political issues, on the state of affairs in Iraq. You had a number of people who've been there recently, General McCaffrey having returned just last month from his latest visit. Fouad Ajami last year had the occasion to sit down and speak with the Ayatollah Sistani, Ali al Sistani.

Recall that Taheri is a lobbyist/pr agent for neocons and neocon causes, whose cultural expertise on Iran is such that he couldn't even accurately name its cultural minister in his op-ed piece and who, judging from the evidence, alerted the Simon Weisenthal Centre in advance of the publication of his misleading op-ed, which then led to the circuitous loop of outrage and false stories.

Now this guy is advising U.S. Preznit George W. Bush?

Incidentally, I ran a few of the other names through Google.

This profile of Fouad Ajami from The Nation, April 10, 2003.

As for the reaction of the Arab street, the Middle East expert Professor Fouad Ajami predicts that after liberation in Basra and Baghdad, the streets are sure to erupt in joy."

Raad Alkadiri is not so easy to pin down. He's ''director for Middle East and Africa in the Country Strategies Group at PFC Energy'' which is in the oil and gas consulting business and claims to be

... one of the pre-eminent strategic advisory firms in global energy. Combining a detailed knowledge and understanding of markets, countries and competition, PFC Energy is recognized in the global energy industry for the depth of its analysis and the integrity of its advice.

Barry McCaffrey:

According to an article written by Seymour Hersh published in 2000 The New Yorker, General McCaffrey committed war crimes during the Gulf War by having troops under his command kill retreating Iraqis after a ceasefire had been declared. Hersh's article "quotes senior officers decrying the lack of discipline and proportionality in the McCaffrey-ordered attack." One colonel told Hersh that it "made no sense for a defeated army to invite their own death. ... It came across as shooting fish in a barrel. Everyone was incredulous."

Wayne Downing:

"'The Iraqis really have got plans prepared,' said retired US Gen. Wayne Downing, a former commander in chief of the US Special Operations Command, at a recent symposium on Iraq. 'They are ready to take the war ... overseas. They would use whatever means they have to attack us.'"

What a team.

Mark my words: This Iranian yellow badges story will be the beast that won't die.

Hat tip to Patrick Kelly.

Comments

[AC]

Great post, AZ!

[Bill-Muskoka]

Antonia,

I am surprised O'Reilly, Coulture, Limbaugh, and Robertson (for spiritual advice of course) are not part of the list?

Yes, I feel safer knowing such powerful, objective minds are advising our southern neighbor.

[Ted]

So Taheri, an exiled Iranian, is living in the US, stoking the embers of invasion and advising the President on Iranian matters.

Hmmmm.

Haven't we seen this movie before?

(Hint: http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?dsid=2222&dekey=Ahmed+Chalabi&linktext=Ahmed%20Chalabi)

Ted
Cerberus

[Bill-Muskoka]

Ted,

Great link and no surprise to me. The U.S. government has long suffered from their own self-imposed delusion of superiority.

They forget that people in the Middle East have, for millenia, been playing a very old, and well known game called, diversion.

They forget that people in the Middle East have, for millenia, been playing a very old, and well known game called, diversion with a smile.

It's like the country hick who comes to T.O. and thinks the same rules are in effect. NOT! How they must laugh at the gullibility of American 'intelligence'! I know I do!

[the wrestler]

Antonia,

Here's another expose:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000796.php

of Taheri's dubious past.