Slog - Comments on Bad News for Baghdad Jim http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim Via Postman: WASHINGTON (AP)- Federal prosecutors say Saddam Hussein’s intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion. An indictment in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam’s regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary. In exchange, Al-Hanooti allegedly received 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. The lawmakers are not mentioned but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of... Copyright 2008 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:50:54 -0800 Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:33:57 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Giffy I would hate to be the UPS guy forced to deliver all that oil.

]]> Giffy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980681 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980681 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:55:38 -0800 Comment by Trey That sound you just heard was Ed Murray dusting off his donor list...

]]> Trey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980693 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980693 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:57:49 -0800 Comment by Mr. X Right - because the Federal Government has been SO accurate (and honest!) about everything Iraq was (and is) doing...

]]> Mr. X http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980704 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980704 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:04:35 -0800 Comment by DOUG. Didn't ol' Jim say during that trip that Bush would "lie us into war". And wasn't he correct? Does it really matter who paid for the plane ticket? If the DoJ was worth a damn, Cheney and Bush would be facing charges of treason and perjury. Instead we get this crap.

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980728 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980728 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:13:54 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Are these the same Federal Prosecutors that have been found to have been appointed based on their hatred for the Constitutional restrictions on Church and State?

Yeah, sure, like we'd believe anything they say ...

(psst, where's bin Laden, morons? ever thought of looking in Pakistan?)

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980765 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c980765 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:19:05 -0800 Comment by Reverse Polarity Well, at least the taxpayers didn't have to pay for the trip. We should be happy.

]]> Reverse Polarity http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981265 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981265 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:19:31 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Whether we should have invaded Iraq to depose Saddam or not, it's disingenuous to pretend that he wasn't a sworn enemy of the United States and an all-around bad guy. A lot of people DID pretend that; that Iraq was a happy land of flowers and balloons. Baghdad Jim's grandstanding didn't accomplish fuck-all as far as preventing war goes, but it was probably illegal.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981302 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981302 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:26:58 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Illegal? The whole War is illegal. Heck, some of us will be turning in the war criminals occupying our White House for the bounties, it's that illegal ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981363 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981363 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:39:24 -0800 Comment by Gitai All this shows is that Saddam was more serious about avoiding war than we were.

]]> Gitai http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981519 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981519 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:22:00 -0800 Comment by erika ok, I'm dense... could somebody spell out the significance of this for me? So the leader of a foreign state that we were considering war with paid to fly some US congressmen out to see if war could be avoided. Is this illegal because of the embargo, or because it went around the Bush administration, or because no one disclosed who paid for the trip?

]]> erika http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981553 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981553 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:32:45 -0800 Comment by Adam It is illegal because fnarf consulted the oracle in the field behind his house ...

What did Jim accomplish, oh nothing, just lighted the beacon of rational thinking mid all the lies and looting and killing and war monger crazy.

Not much at all. He is an international voice of what America should and could be.

Sorry fnarf, your oracle is full of shit this evening.

]]> Adam http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981789 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c981789 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:52:17 -0800 Comment by Big Sven Fnarf's right. And those of you who let your totally justified hatred of the war conflate into a totally unjustified defense of a total dick Middle Eastern tyrant are guilty of (at the very least) very lazy thinking.

]]> Big Sven http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982013 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982013 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:37:14 -0800 Comment by Adam And, just who thought or said Sadam had any redeeming qualities?

Of course there are about 20 or so tyrants out there at the moment, Africa seems really cursed in that regard, why not 20 wars to take them out? The Bush-McCain plan? Force democracy, American style, using war, for their sake. Police the planet with American cowboy military might.Oh bullshit and more shit.

But wait, those countries are not oil rich. I see. The plot thickens, at the very least is slicker and richer.

When it comes to lazy thinking ... well I think on this post it is Little Sven.

]]> Adam http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982103 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982103 Politics Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:40:59 -0800 Comment by Big Sven Yes, Adam, there are at least 20 tyrants out there in the world. And you shouldn't accept PR junkets from any of them. Speaking of lazy thinking, thank you for proving my point by confusing support for the war (which you imply I do, despite my explicit statement that I don't) with wupport for a tyrant (which Jim did, by taking his money.)

]]> Big Sven http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982916 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/03/bad_news_for_baghdad_jim#c982916 Politics Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:33:57 -0800