More Fun With Transliteraton!

     Remember how I detailed how the US Gov't likes to re-spell problematic figures in history.  Well, by accident or design, I'd been googling for Nasir|Nasser|Naseer Ayef, but the US media had been covering the story of the arrest of N. Ayaef, who happens to be the same person.  The Iraqi blog Healing Iraq has the spelling: Nasir 'Ayif Habib.

     To continue with the theme, it turns out, as ManicNetPreacher commented below, Ayaef had immunity.  And, as if to make me whole again, Google News indicates that no US newspapers are covering this angle of the story.

     Now, I keep reading in the US press that Ayef|Ayaef, or Ay(ae?|i)f (in regex-speak the ? denotes 0 or 1 of the letter it follows, the parens group and the | says it should be something on either side of it) "a member of the Iraqi National Council" while in the South Asian press I find he is "the deputy head of the Iraqi National Assembly."

     A little further 'net digging repeatedly yields this webpage from Global Security (obvious government associates)

The IIG works alongside the 100-member Interim National Council, chosen by a national political conference in August 2004. The conference, attended by 1,200 Iraqis representing a broad range of ethnic, religious and tribal groups and including 275 women, was a clear demonstration of democracy in action and an important transitional step. The National Council works to promote national dialogue and consensus, and will monitor the work of the IIG

     So he is, or is not, the deputy leader of the only elected body in Iraq, although Healing Iraq again provides local commentary on that whole procedure.