Free Republic

Venezuela’s Tarek El-Aissami The Americas Report | Oct 03, 2008  By Nicole Ferrand [...] Mr. El - Aissami is a Venezuelan national of Syrian descent who, before becoming Minster of Interior and Justice, occupied the position of Deputy Interior Minister for Public Security. His father, Carlos Aissami, is the head of the Venezuelan branch of the Iraqi Baath political party. Before the invasion of Iraq, he held a press conference in which he described himself as a Taliban and called Osama Bin Laden, "the great Mujahedeen, Sheik Osama bin Laden." Tarek's great-uncle Shibli el-Aissami was a prominent ideologist and...

The legacy of a mass murderer.A field outside Baghdad THE DEAD DON'T TALK in Iraq but their graves do. In northern Iraq, a grave was unearthed last July with several thousand bodies, mostly women and children. From the bullet holes in the top of the skulls, it was clear the deaths weren't natural. The victims had been shot from above while kneeling or after being forced into a mass grave. They had personal household items with them like baskets. They had their clothes on. These were clues that helped identify their hometown and led to the conclusion they'd been compelled...

The United States will provide technical support for the trial of Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi people will have the primary role in bringing the deposed dictator to justice, a senior U.S. official said today. Dan Senor, chief spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority, pointed out during a Baghdad press briefing that civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer III met today with a delegation of U.S. Justice Department legal experts recently arrived in the country. As American and Iraqi legalists develop the format to bring Hussein and others before justice for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, Senor said the...

Scientists carefully document thousands so carelessly killed MAHAWEEL, Iraq - The killers kept bankers' hours. They showed up for work at the barley field at 9 a.m., trailed by backhoes and three buses filled with blindfolded men, women and children as young as 1. Every day, witnesses say, the routine was the same: The backhoes dug a trench. Fifty people were led to the edge of the hole and shot, one by one, in the head. The backhoes covered them with dirt, then dug another hole for the next group. At 5 p.m., the killers - officials of Saddam Hussein's...

Kuwaiti Paper Criticizes SyriaBy MEMRIMEMRI | April 22, 2003 Over the past week, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, editor of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyasa, wrote a series of articles which were critical of the Syrian regime. The following are excerpts from the articles: If Syria Follows Iraq's Example, It Will Share Iraq's FateIn the first article of the series, titled "Damascus On the Path to Baghdad's Abyss," Al-Jarallah wrote: "Following the completion of the mission of 'liberating Iraq,' the pressure has now shifted to Damascus – and there are signs that the next step will be 'liberating Syria.' This renewed pressure is worrying,...