Chalabi Resurfaces As Central Figure In Iraq

[babylonsister]

Chalabi back in action in Iraq
By Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers

* Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2007


BAGHDAD-Ahmad Chalabi, the controversial, ubiquitous Iraqi politician and one-time Bush administration favorite, has re-emerged as a central figure in the latest U.S. strategy for Iraq.

His latest job: To press Iraq's central government to use early security gains from the surge to deliver better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad neighborhoods. That's the next phase of the surge plan. Until now, the U.S. military, various militias, insurgents and some U.S. backed groups have provided those services without great success.

That the U.S. and Iraqi officials are again turning to Chalabi, this time to restore life to Baghdad neighborhoods, speaks to his resiliency in this nascent government. It's also, some say, his latest effort to promote himself as a true national advocate for everyday Iraqis.

Chalabi, in the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, provided White House and Pentagon officials and journalists with a stream of bogus or exaggerated intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs and ties to terrorism. He also suggested that he'd lead Iraq to make peace with Israel and welcome permanent U.S. military bases, which could apply pressure to Iran and Syria.

But Chalabi's proven a resilient politician since then and Iraqis yearn for someone who can make the government help them. In sermons in the holy Shiite city of Najaf and in Sunni newspapers alike, Iraqis here often reject their central government, saying it has done nothing for them since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Instead, the government's critics say, local tribal leaders and residents rejuvenated neighborhoods by pushing fighters out and securing the streets.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/20893.html

[Xipe Totec]

1. Is he a pro, or a con?

maybe he's just a pro at being a con?

[Frustratedlady]

2. Must be low on funds?

Didn't some money disappear when he left?

[Disturbed]

3. Ahmed Chalabi still thinks that he will be PM of Iraq.

Didn't the Busholini Regime push for him to be the PM?

[Sal Minella]

4. Yes, and he was resoundingly rejected by the people. As I remember, Negroponte

thought Chalabi would be the natural choice, even though he'd been out of the country for years. After that fell through, he decided producing intelligence was a Creative Writing assignment, and when the U.S. govt got tired of paying him $350,000 a month for fake intelligence, he disappeared for awhile. He was Oil Minister for awhile too, and I would guess he knows more than a little about where the pallets of cash went (the missing $8 billion or whatever it was).