Liberation detainment

August 12, 2003 8:00 AM

Last week, Josh Marshall of TPM broke a story on his blog, about US detention of Mahdi Obeidi, who has been held under American surveillance since the fall of Baghdad. Marshall claims that Obeidi is being held due to his refusal to tell his captors what they want to hear as regards the alleged Iraqi nuclear program. It took a few days, but the story has now gone beyond the "blogosphere" and was picked up by Newsweek's Michael Hirsh in yesterday's story Is Iraqi Intel Still Being Manipulated?
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly (7 comments total)

Hirsh clearly has more details (and maybe better sources) than Marshall, but none has to wonder if the story would have graduated to mainstream media outlets without the buzz generated by Marshall's blog post. Nonetheless, Obeidi's is a chilling story.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 8:01 AM on August 12, 2003

As much as I hate bush and want believe this guy that Iraq didn't have weapons programs, don't you think it's possible he might still like Saddam? And what he's telling the US is designed to make bush look bad?

Maybe not, but if he survived that long as Iraq's minister of military industrialization he must be a pretty good liar... I mean after all Saddam had no clue just how poor his military actualy was.
posted by delmoi at 8:40 AM on August 12, 2003

But how, delmoi, can you trust anything any informant says when they are bribed by the administration, with offers of refuge and a better life?
posted by Blue Stone at 9:01 AM on August 12, 2003

But how, delmoi, can you trust anything any informant says when they are bribed by the administration, with offers of refuge and a better life?

Read the article. He is under daily surveillance, and not allowed to talk to the press or leave his home.

delmoi-
No one disputes that Iraq had weapons programs. It's god to see that people have seemlessly integrated the administration's latest rhetoric shift. We went to war for stockpiles of weapons and the imminent threat of a nuclear weapon. You're right that Obeidi's a great liar. He lied to UN inspectors before, and I don't doubt that he could be lying now. Even if he is, how is his detention and the secrecy surrounding it going to encourage anyone else to come forward? This approach just smacks of the same bad planning that has permeated much of the post-war period.

And it's not like Obeidi wrote these articles. He can't even talk to the press.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 9:30 AM on August 12, 2003

Here's another good article on the manipulation of pre-war intelligence that's been doing the rounds: Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence.

Meanwhile, Robert Novak claims that David Kay is waiting to reveal evidence of biological weapons in September.
posted by homunculus at 10:17 AM on August 12, 2003

"[...]been held under American surveillance[...]"

Now that's a nice way of saying "imprisoned without trial".
posted by spazzm at 10:33 AM on August 12, 2003

Meanwhile, Robert Novak claims that David Kay is waiting to reveal evidence of biological weapons in September.

It takes him that long to get them planted?

(I know, I know, but David Kay is pretty much discredited. You might as well have Jay Kay doing the inspections in his silly hat.)
posted by riviera at 10:53 AM on August 12, 2003