It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
Feeling conspiratorial...

Is anyone else suspicious of the recent switch of Iraqi Ahmad Chalabi from pro-American cheerleader to anti-American rebel?

Chalabi is the guy who had been trying for years to get the U.S. government to invade Iraq. He's the one who fed the Bush Administration false stories about huge stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Bush Administration hand-picked Chalabi for a seat on the puppet government of the Iraqi Governing Council. Until just a couple weeks ago, Chalabi has been strongly supportive of the American occupation of Iraq.

Now, all of a sudden, Chalabi appears to be a strong opponent of the American occupation, giving fiery anti-American speeches and having his offices raided.

Well, as the Church Lady might ask, isn't that convenient?

Chalabi wants to be the next leader of Iraq, and the Bush Administration has wanted to place him in that role. Yet, Iraqis seem to detest anyone who supports the American occupation of Iraq. What now appears to be the widespread use of torture by Americans in Iraq makes it extremely difficult for a pro-American Iraqi to earn the trust of Iraqi voters. Chalabi, as long as he appears to be pro-American, would have no political future in Iraq.

So how, oh how, would a guy like Chalabi get credibility? Why, he'd have to appear to be standing up against the American occupying thugs, wouldn't he?

For me, Chalabi's switch from pro-occupation to anti-occupation happened too suddenly to be believed. I'm more inclined that Mr. Bush and Mr. Chalabi are in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge relationship in which it's understood that the best way to get Chalabi into power is to help him change his shed his image as a toady of the American occupying force.

A few weeks ago, I would have dismissed such an idea, but since then it's become clear that the Bush Administration will resort to anything, no matter how strange, to get its way.

Posted by J. Clifford Cook at 6:49 AM. # (permalink)  




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