Chalabi - Mr Out is In Again
seattletimes: Let's see, it is January, so Ahmad Chalabi must be back in favor with the Bush administration and have a new job in Iraq.
One of the United States' legacies to post-Saddam Iraq is the super-smooth Chalabi, who more or less talked the neoconservatives of Washington into invading his homeland. He had not lived there since 1955, but a small point. Chalabi lost badly in the recent parliamentary elections, but his fortunes were revived last week when he added the duties of oil minister to his resume.
His relationship with the Bush administration has cooled and reheated more often than take-out pizza. Chalabi appears to have zero political ties to the Iraqi people, but no one appears better connected to the ruling class than this American-educated financier.
In the late 1990s, Chalabi convinced the U.S. Congress to give his creation, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), $100 million to get on its feet, according to The Washington Post. He spent the run-up to the war whispering in the administration's ear about weapons of mass destruction. Read more
knightridder: Chalabi likely to succeed in new Iraq government, despite controversy
Even though Ahmad Chalabi apparently lost badly in last month's parliamentary election here, the former Pentagon favorite is still likely to be a big player in the next Iraqi government.
The Dec. 15 vote went largely to ethnic and sectarian coalitions at the expense of secular slates, including his, preliminary returns indicate. That could leave him without a seat in parliament.
Yet the former exile who helped spur the U.S.-led invasion by feeding false intelligence to Washington about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and who returned to Iraq after Saddam's fall to craft himself into a political leader, still has more cards to play. Characteristically, Chalabi, 61, could land on his feet in a high government post even though he failed to win even a minimum of votes from the Iraqi people.
"He is a very experienced politician," said political scientist Hazim Abdulhameed al-Nuaimi of Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. Chalabi has "the ability to retreat and start from zero."
At a minimum, Chalabi, a secular Shiite, has maintained good relations across Iraq's major ethnic and sectarian divides.
Furthermore, as Iraq has endured almost three years of post-invasion unrest, Chalabi's supporters have portrayed him as an astute technocrat, an asset to any ruling coalition aiming to restore order and prosperity. He was educated at the University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"I think most, if not all, political parties know what Ahmad Chalabi's capable of," said Haider al-Moussawi, one of his key aides. "They still want to have Ahmad Chalabi as part of any team."
As political leaders haggle over power, the day-to-day running of a government that often cannot provide Iraqis necessities such as electricity and gasoline remains a critical task.
Last week Chalabi was picked to temporarily replace the ousted minister of oil.
"He wants to be close to the oil industry and its institutions in order to know it well, because it is the backbone now for any government," said al-Nuaimi. "If the security situation stabilizes, Chalabi can start promising huge investment projects for Iraq, and he could become popular from that." Read more
One of the United States' legacies to post-Saddam Iraq is the super-smooth Chalabi, who more or less talked the neoconservatives of Washington into invading his homeland. He had not lived there since 1955, but a small point. Chalabi lost badly in the recent parliamentary elections, but his fortunes were revived last week when he added the duties of oil minister to his resume.
His relationship with the Bush administration has cooled and reheated more often than take-out pizza. Chalabi appears to have zero political ties to the Iraqi people, but no one appears better connected to the ruling class than this American-educated financier.
In the late 1990s, Chalabi convinced the U.S. Congress to give his creation, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), $100 million to get on its feet, according to The Washington Post. He spent the run-up to the war whispering in the administration's ear about weapons of mass destruction. Read more
knightridder: Chalabi likely to succeed in new Iraq government, despite controversy
Even though Ahmad Chalabi apparently lost badly in last month's parliamentary election here, the former Pentagon favorite is still likely to be a big player in the next Iraqi government.
The Dec. 15 vote went largely to ethnic and sectarian coalitions at the expense of secular slates, including his, preliminary returns indicate. That could leave him without a seat in parliament.
Yet the former exile who helped spur the U.S.-led invasion by feeding false intelligence to Washington about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and who returned to Iraq after Saddam's fall to craft himself into a political leader, still has more cards to play. Characteristically, Chalabi, 61, could land on his feet in a high government post even though he failed to win even a minimum of votes from the Iraqi people.
"He is a very experienced politician," said political scientist Hazim Abdulhameed al-Nuaimi of Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. Chalabi has "the ability to retreat and start from zero."
At a minimum, Chalabi, a secular Shiite, has maintained good relations across Iraq's major ethnic and sectarian divides.
Furthermore, as Iraq has endured almost three years of post-invasion unrest, Chalabi's supporters have portrayed him as an astute technocrat, an asset to any ruling coalition aiming to restore order and prosperity. He was educated at the University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"I think most, if not all, political parties know what Ahmad Chalabi's capable of," said Haider al-Moussawi, one of his key aides. "They still want to have Ahmad Chalabi as part of any team."
As political leaders haggle over power, the day-to-day running of a government that often cannot provide Iraqis necessities such as electricity and gasoline remains a critical task.
Last week Chalabi was picked to temporarily replace the ousted minister of oil.
"He wants to be close to the oil industry and its institutions in order to know it well, because it is the backbone now for any government," said al-Nuaimi. "If the security situation stabilizes, Chalabi can start promising huge investment projects for Iraq, and he could become popular from that." Read more
posted by exoplanet at 9:37 PM
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