Kurdistan - The United States/CIA/Iraqi National Congress and His Munificent Excellency the Very Honorable Saddam Hussein (and Sons)

Well, yes, here we come to one of one of the most entertaining foul-ups-depending on where you stand-in the recent annals of intelligence. In their heady desire to oust Saddam for someone with a prettier face, the CIA decided dole out the cash to the Arab opposition. Thus the INC was born: a motley crew of more parties than people. Led by Ahmed Chalabi, a former banker wanted on fraud charges in Jordan, they set about the task of collecting Uncle Sam's cash and hatching a plan to depose Saddam. With a lack of secrecy that Austin Powers would have been proud of the INC installed itself in the Ankowa district of Arbil and set about plotting the downfall of Saddam. All well and good, you might be thinking to yourself. Not quite. Their willingness to welcome defectors from Baghdad-can you see where this is going?-made for more than the odd security slipup. As you might just have guessed, Saddam's kids promptly installed themselves at all the right levels, keeping their buddies in Baghdad informed of all goings-on. Not a great start. And, as they say, things could only get worse. And boy, did they get worse.

In 1996 the Dublin peace accord, which had been signed by the PUK and KDP began to fall to pieces. (The inside story on this is that the Turks told the United States that no way was there going to be any elections in Kurdistan. It might just encourage Turkish Kurds to get ideas of their own. The United States said okay and withdrew support for the elections.) Clashes started between the two factions. This time, though. Massoud Barzani tried another tact. He invited Saddam to help him kick the PUK and anyone else he didn't like out of Arbil. Did the CIA know this was coming? Well, actually they did. DP 's intelligence network in the region says that it was no big secret that Barzani was negotiating with Baghdad. Some in the CIA saw all this as just the opportunity to get rid of Saddam. The scenario amongst CIA officers on the ground went like this: Saddam comes to Arbil. The Kurds-in the form of the PUK-fight like hell. The United States comes to their aid with massive airstrikes taking out Saddam's tanks. The Kurds move on to Baghdad and the Iraqi military rebel. A re-enactment of 1991, except this time the United States supports the rebellion and . . . bye bye Saddam. That is, of course, what they told the PUK. So the PUK guys-or so they told DP-came up with an ultra-cunning plan to defend Arbil, only to find that where the CIA said one thing the State Department and the Pentagon had other ideas. Whoops! So Saddam rocked into Arbil . . . no United States support for the PUK, who leg it from town and, well, you know the rest. Bill sends in the missiles and gets the ratings. The PUK get shafted. CIA operatives flee for Turkey. Saddam chuckles.