Iraq's Ahmad Chalabi, leading voice behind 2003 war, dies (no tears from me)

[niyad]

Iraq's Ahmad Chalabi, leading voice behind 2003 war, dies

BAGHDAD (AP) — Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent Iraqi politician who became a Pentagon favorite when he helped convince the Bush administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein in 2003 by pushing false allegations of weapons of mass destruction and links to al-Qaida, died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 71.


United Iraqi Alliance deputy and former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi twirls his prayer beads whilst making a phone call at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. Iraqi state TV says Ahmad Chalabi, a prominent politician who strongly advocated the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein, has died of a heart attack.
November 03, 2015

Iraqi state TV said he died in Baghdad but did not provide further details. Chalabi, a secular Shiite politician who lived in exile for decades, was a leading proponent of the invasion and had close ties to many in the Bush administration, who viewed him as a favorite to lead Iraq.

However, he had a falling out with the Pentagon after the invasion, and was largely sidelined by other Iraqi leaders, many with close ties to neighboring Iran. Chalabi had most recently been serving as the chairman of parliament's finance committee, and was previously a deputy prime minister.

The first deputy speaker of parliament, Sheik Humam Hamoudi, lamented Chalabi's death as a "big loss" for Iraq, calling him "an example of perseverance and dedication." "It is a very bad day for Iraq," Shiite lawmaker Muwaffak al-Rubaie, a former national security adviser, told The Associated Press. "He was one of the most seasoned and pioneering politicians. Chalabi worked for a democratic, liberal Iraq ... I am glad he died peacefully."

The scion of a wealthy Baghdad family, Chalabi fled Iraq as a teenager when the monarchy was overthrown. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965, and then went on to get a PhD in mathematics at the University of Chicago.

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http://www.mail.com/news/world/3931702-iraqs-ahmad-chalabi-leading-voice-2003-war-dies.html#.23140-stage-hero1-11

[polly7]

1. Me either.

I normally can drum up a little sympathy for any human being ... well, I do for his family, but this * ?, nooooo ........ I hope he goes straight to hell and burns forever.