Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

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MONDAY, JlJLY '." ]994.
In Iraq, the Opposition Plot Bogs Down
By Chris Hedges
New York Times Service
SALAH AD DIN, Iraq - In a small,
nondescript house, with armed guards out
front and the windows bricked shut, the
men and women who would seize power
from President Saddam Hussein plot their
way to Baghdad.
In cramped, dimly lighted rooms they
stuff miniature copies of their opposition
newspaper into matchboxes to smuggle
past Iraqi lines into the capital. They record
blistering attacks against the govern- .
ment to be broadcast on their radio and
television stations.
They pound new information into com- .
puters in an effort to flesh out profiles. of .
officers who might be willing to stand WIth
them against the Iraqi leader. And in a
camp just outside town, 500 .militiamen
train with former Iraqi officers. .
But three years after the Gulf War, the
Iraqi N.ational Con/Vess, t~e umbr~lla or- .
ganizatlon for KurdIsh, Shüte Muslim and
Sunni Muslim opposition groups, has little
to show for its efforts.
Mr. Saddam not only remains in power.
but with' Iraq increasingly in compliance .
with the United Nations cease-fire resolution,
it seems only a matter.of time before.
sanctions are lifted. . .
The few coup attempts, only one of .
which, in June 1992, serious!y threatened :
the Iraqi leader, were all swiftly ~rush.ed.
Last year the' Clinton adrrnrustratlon
scaled do~n a covert $40 million program
run by the Central Intelligence Agency to
overthrow him. . ..: ..'
Administration officials said. much of
the aid was distributed to groups and offi-
10
cers with no real following. Too
much money, they said, went
intothe production of leaflets
and propaganda that had little
impact.
"The Americans always held
out this hope that some mysterious
officer would come along
and rid the world of Saddam
Hussein," said a senior Iraqi
National Congress official.
"This hasn't happened, and
isn't likely to happen."
Several million dollars are
still given to Iraqi opposition
groups by the CIA to finance
broadcasts and other propagan-
. da efforts.
Iraqi National Congress officials
declined to say whether
they were included in the covert
financing effort.
The group set up its operations
a year ago in the northern
"security zone" controlled by
Kurdish rebels and protected
by the United States and its
allies, but much of its recent
efforts have been devoted to
separating warring Kurdish
guerrilla factions.
"This is not our job," said a
senior leader of the Iraqi N ational
Congress. "We don't
really like it, but we have no
.alternative. We have wasted
about a monthand a half of our
time."
In a sweltering television studio,
Sermat Ilias, a political
commentator, glanced at his
script as the strains of Vivaldi's
"Four Seasons" faded away.
His recorded commentary
would be broadcast on the
group's television channel in
the north that night after the
evening news.
The news program, filled
with scenes pirated from various
satellite broadcasts, including
those of CNN and the BBC.
is beamed south each evening to
Iraqis living below the Kurdishheld
security zone.
The television and radio stations,
frequently attacked by.
the government-run press in.
Baghdad for spreading foreign'
propaganda. are oftenjammed ..
S'till, the dissidents insist that.
their efforts are slowly eroding'
Mr. Saddam's authority.
"We do not put our faith in a
magical coup." said Ahmed
Chalabi. effectively the head of
the Iraqi National Congress.
"We are trying to mobilize support
inside Iraq and spread the
word to let people know we are
. here and offer an alternative."