Bush and Abu Risha

Bush meeting with Sattar Abu Risha, Anbar (as published in dozens of Arab papers)

It's kind of lost in the shuffle of the coming battle over the various Iraq reports, but I find myself morbidly fascinated by the photos and reports which have circulated in the Iraqi press about Bush's meeting in Anbar with the controversial head of the Anbar Salvation Council Sattar Abu Risha.   The pictures themselves speak volumes:  look at Bush's shit-eating grin and Abu Risha's detached contempt, and figure out which is the supplicant in this scenario. 

An hour with Bush was really quite a coup for Sattar Abu Risha.   The head of the Anbar Salvation Council has a rather unsavory reputation as one of the shadiest figures in the Sunni community, and as recently as June was reportedly on his way out.  As a report in Time described him,

Sheikh Sattar, whose tribe is notorious for highway banditry, is also building a personal militia, loyal not to the Iraqi government but only to him. Other tribes — even those who want no truck with terrorists — complain they are being forced to kowtow to him. Those who refuse risk being branded as friends of al-Qaeda and tossed in jail, or worse. In Baghdad, government delight at the Anbar Front's impact on al-Qaeda is tempered by concern that the Marines have unwittingly turned Sheikh Sattar into a warlord who will turn the province into his personal fiefdom.

In June, Abu Risha's position in the Anbar Salvation Council came under a fairly intense internal challenge.  As the Washington Post reported at the time, 

Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, 35, a leader of the Dulaim confederation, the largest tribal organization in Anbar, said that the Anbar Salvation Council would be dissolved because of growing internal dissatisfaction over its cooperation with U.S. soldiers and the behavior of the council's most prominent member, Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. Suleiman called Abu Risha a "traitor" who "sells his beliefs, his religion and his people for money."

That's our guy.  That's the pillar of America's Sunni strategy, and a key player in Fred Kagan's fantasy life.

And I didn't even mention the widely discussed, sensational rumor that he had skipped town with $75 million in American cash - which evidently wasn't true, or else was just a "misunderstanding" which has been "resolved", but does speak to endless circulation of unpleasant rumors about the guy's corruption and mercenary behavior.    I wish I could have been there as Abu Risha nodded along sagely while Bush promised to funnel large-scale American economic development funds in Anbar, perhaps offering the services of his own highly professional office in seeing to the disbursement of the funds.  It's kind of humiliating to watch an American President get rolled by a two bit, corrupt petty shaykh.

But that's not even the worst of it.  According to one widely disseminated account of their meeting, Bush acted shocked when Abu Risha complained about Sunnis being killed in Baghdad because of their names, claiming he had never heard of such things.  It's impossible to know the accuracy of this account, since it comes out of an Iraqi press not known for its fealty to professionalism or standards of evidence.  But if true, what an astonishingly depressing admission of ignorance of one of the most important aspects of the Iraqi situation:  he has never heard of the ethnic cleansing of Baghdad.

Comments

[Zathras]

I don't really think anyone who believes that we have a choice as to whether or not we will deal with shady, unscrupulous people in an Arab country -- especially this Arab country -- has any business talking about anyone else's fantasy life.

[airtommy]

Zathras says we have no choice but to "deal with shady, unscrupulous people in an Arab country".

There are tons of honest Arabs. We consistently oppose them and support the corrupt ones. Nasrallah is a good example. He's universally known for his honesty. And naturally Bush has labeled him the enemy. Bush called for a new round elections to be held in Palestine. The most honest group won (Hamas). Bush labeled them the enemy. You can go back 100 years playing this game, same result every time.

[Nur al-Cubicle]

Meanwhile, in Egypt, the former secretary to Ayman Nur, Ayman Ismaïl, has committeed [koff] "suicide" while in prison.

[JHM]

There are tons of honest Arabs. We consistently oppose them and support the corrupt ones. Nasrallah is a good example. He's universally known for his honesty. And naturally Bush has labeled him the enemy. Bush called for a new round elections to be held in Palestine.

Oh well, even "dishonest Arabs" who frankly oppose militant extremist Republican Party values flat-out may hope to be eventually saved at last! (Maybe.)

So that's OK too!

Of course the latest opportunistic GOP stumblebumism in their neo-formerized Iraq is to assume that ALL Arabs are potentially corruptible, that their latest stumbled-upon Bribe-a-Tribe gizmo is indeed the "Key to All Mesopotamian Mythology"!

Perhaps we good guys had better just sit back silently and watch for the latest neo-nonsense of the Boy-'n'-Party crew to miscarry, rather than over-officiously strive to contradict in advance?

[nur al-cubicle]

That pathetic putz of a president. Just look at that sorrowful attempt to yuk it up with Abu Risha. And AR is having none of it. Yessirree, the Gulbuddin Hekmatyar of Iraq, Bushie's pal.

[ummabdulla]

Geez, they couldn't even put out glasses for the "most powerful man in the world"! Even if your neighbor drops by, you pour the water out of the bottle, or the juice out of the box - and put it in a nice glass... And what, did someone fold plain white paper to make the fancy nameplates?

[Peter Principle]

"I wish I could have been there as Abu Risha nodded along sagely while Bush promised to funnel large-scale American economic development funds in Anbar, perhaps offering the services of his own highly professional office in seeing to the disbursement of the funds."

This stuff almost reads like something out of Lawrence of Arabia:

LAWRENCE: Did Auda come to Aqaba for gold?

AUDAR: For my pleasure as you said, but gold is honourable, and 'Awrence promised gold. 'Awrence lied.

LAWRENCE: See, Auda. The Crown of England promises to pay five thousand golden guineas to Audar Abu Tayi, signed in His Majesty's absence, by ... me. In ten days, I'll be back with the gold. With gold, with guns, ...with everything.

George W. Bush -- T.E. Lawrence with a lobotomy.

What boggles the mind is that the Americans believe that in the 21st century they can still build their Iraqi imperium on the shoulders of "two-bit, corrupt petty shaykhs" like Abu Audar, er, I mean Abu Risha -- as if nothing had changed in that part of the world since 1917.

But even the British, with all their contempt for "town" Arabs, couldn't control Iraq for long with their feudal tribal allies. After a century of urbanization, trying to do it now is like trying to control the United States by making alliances with a bunch of Utah sheepherders.

On the other hand, the war has done a pretty good job of emptying the cities and driving whatever is left of the urban middle class into exile. So maybe it is possible. Maybe that's the neocon recipe for building the "new" Middle East -- by driving it back into the 18th century.

[bb]

Going by that photo Abu Risha looks one sexy dude. Has he ever been interviewed on Al Jazeera? If not why not?

[JJackson]

Hell, if I look the other way now I can claim it was Photoshopped later, hmm better lean forward so that flag doesn’t touch me. I wonder how long I need to wait before I can slip out to the bathroom and wash my hand without seeming rude. Allah forgive me.

[jimbobuddy]

What a dickhead. This is the face of the U.S. that all the world sees. I'm gonna puke, now.

[Neil Rove]

When Barak Obama said he will talk to leaders of Iran, and Venezuela and take a hard stance on Pakistan if they do no cooperate in catching the enemy, the conservatives ridiculed him saying he wants to meet with enemies and bomb our friends.

Now Bush is meeting with people like Sattar Abu Risha and he is not even the head of a country, funding him like we did with others in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation, and propping him up as our friend and ally and creating another enemy but this time in Iraq.

I wonder what the Neo-Con presidential candidates will say about this.

Go Barak Obama.

[Glenda]

The decider has taken to dressing in black. Such a nice touch.

[Bush Bites]

Far from fighting Terrorists, Bush is now kissing their asses.

[Comrade Rutherford]

I saw Bush thanking a key ally for a job well done - legitimizing the war profiteering for US military suppliers...

[Comrade Rutherford]

"Bush promised to funnel large-scale American economic development funds in Anbar"

Just like The President did for New Orleans, by handing billions of dollars of taxpayer's money to the *Mississippi* Governor (a republican) to hand out as welfare to his family and friends with no expectation of any returns and no accountability of the money.

[Bob]

I don't know for sure but Bush sure is happy abnout something. Something is going on behind the scean. I think they did some kind of deal. Wait and watch.

[Justin]

I'd like to point out that Ali Hatim and Sheikh Sattar hate each other. The reason on the street for this, I'll also note, is that Sheikh Sattar remained with his tribe through the car bombs and the death threats and the murder of his brother by Al Qaida, while Ali Hatim hid in a comfortable getaway abroad and let his people die without him.

Now, BECAUSE of Sheikh Sattar, Anbar is quiet. I could personally give a rat's ass about what he did before that -- fact is, he is saving lives daily by being exactly the Han Solo scoundrel he is. Ali Hatim, meanwhile, is going around to anyone who will listen, bashing Sattar, trying to get his old influence back. And you, out of a misguided attempt to bash the President (who honestly doesn't need this little bit to look bad) are parroting it without checking on it.

Until you've come out here and bandaged some shrapnel wounds on women and children who've gotten blown up by car bombs, met the sheikhs and figured out what they want, and so on, I submit you have no business judging ANY of the Iraqi people. Focus on the fact that our media has given you nothing but meaningless garbage for war coverage for the last four years -- pro-war OR anti-war -- and that this is why so many Americans have no clue what's going on here, much less why, much less what we should do instead.

I don't blame anyone for having a faulty opinion based on faulty media factoids, but I couldn't be silent on this one. The reason Sattar looks smug is because he was the only man of action in a room full of talkers.

[mark]

Oh, now HE looks like a good candidate for next puppet! He follows in that long distinguished list of U.S. installed or approved puppet despots. The Shah of Iran, Pinochet, Hussein, Fujimori, Karzai

[Rebel Yell]

The quote from the Times might as well have read:
"George W. Bush, whose political party is notorious for bribes and kickbacks, is also building a personal militia, Blackwater, loyal not to the American people but only to him. Democrats —— even those who want no truck with terrorists —— complain they are being forced to kowtow to him. Those who refuse risk being branded as friends of al-Qaeda and tossed in jail, or worse. In Washington, Republican delight at Bush’s disregard for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution is tempered by concern that Blackwater has unwittingly turned him into a warlord who will turn the USA into his personal fiefdom."

[Bourgeois Liberal]

Boy, talk about Decline & Fall.

Sure looks like it to me.

What we're buying with this dude is an alternate escape route from Iraq in case the road from Baghdad to Basra gets cut after the war with Iran starts.

[Karen, New York]

This is so nauseating. I'm sorry I read it around dinner time. It is another example of our President getting it wrong, it seems.

[Joe]

What's up with that insane look on Bush's face?

[TXLIB]

Just look at the buffoon Bush, smiling that stupid, gee whiz Gomer Pyle, with this murderer.

When will Bush learn to stop looking as stupid as he is?

[Anon 2]

The US policy in Iraq is going to bring about warlordes like in Afganistan which will devide the country , AND WE WONDER WHY THE ARABS HATE US .

[Slowhand]

He looks drunk.