Friday 27 January 2006

Iraqis Wake-Up To Their 'Dewey Beats Truman' Snafu With Hamas Upset

Lincoln Group, U.S. Military Was Confident In Fatah Victory; PNAC Said To Be In "Crisis Mode"

Hundreds-of-Thousands of Iraqis woke-up yesterday morning, to headlines and stories detailing the Fatah Party's slim victory in the Palestinian elections on Wednesday, only to turn on their televisions and radios to later learn that the Hamas Party was the majority winner in the elections.

Quickly, throughout the country, newsstands, bookstores and the newspapers themselves were stormed by mobs of people seeking copies, after it became clear there was a snafu and news anchors, disc jockeys, and even clerics, began saying that this was the young democracy's "Dewey Beats Truman" moment.

U.S. Military officials in Iraq offered little comment, saying that "we are not responsible for the content".

Sources close to the Pentagon dispute the claim, saying that the Lincoln Group had been working on copy to be placed in the Iraqi media, detailing the slim victory of the ruling party, Fatah and drawing comparisons to the recent Iraqi elections.

"It was all over the place," said the administration source. "The Lincoln Group had reams of copy they were feeding the Iraqi press. Straight news reports, features, Editorials and Op-Ed pieces … They had this stuff plastered all over the place … all over the place."

It's being reported that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was not amused with the snafu, or "Dewey Beats Truman" chants outside his office, and has demanded from Washington an answer as to why it happened.

"President Bush seemed to know the real results early enough," said an angry Talabani, "why didn't they share them with us?"

Rumors began circulating this morning, in Washington, that the White House is even more distracted by the Hamas victory than reported.

Senior staff members have been rushing, back-and-forth, to the offices of Project for the New American Century (PNAC), who other sources say are "completed immersed in crisis mode".

"This wasn't part of their plan," said the source. "The PNAC doesn't have any files for this. The Iraq plan went so perfect for them, they never saw this one coming."

The White House refused comment and, shortly after, released a statement saying that the President was establishing, as was alluded to yesterday in his press conference, the "Palestinian Surveillance Program", only now it is being modified, and will be manned along with Israel, to the "Hamas Surveillance Program" and, for Talabani, and the newly elected government there, the "Iraqi News Media Surveillance Program".















Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) is joining the growing number of voices that want answers on how the Iraqi media called this weeks' Palestinian elections for the Fatah Party, gving the young democracy there 'Dewey Beats Truman" moment