August 2, 2004
Notes

Mr. Dictatorhead

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The story that Iyad Allawi, the newly installed Iraqi Prime Minister, had executed up to six insurgents in cold blood, was first reported around July 16th. The account, written by a respected journalist, Paul McGeough, in the Sydney Morning Herald, was based on information from two independent corroborating witnesses. (The original article is reproduced here at counterpunch.org.)

In a radio interview, Mr. McGeough, himself, predicted little would come of the story. He felt that it required extensive follow-up investigation, and was likely far too sensitive a subject for most media to pursue.

If you do a search on the most obvious attributes of the situation, you’ll find most reports coming out of Australia (or the American far left). Of the few mentions I found in the American press, the story was framed in the context of “urban legend,” or as a rumor planted by Allawi himself to reinforce his own “no nonsense” reputation.

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Michael Shaw
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