# Ahmad Chalabi: Best Hope for Iraq or Shady Expat Puppet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872 "2003-04-24T15:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/1 "2003-04-24T15:40:04Z")
[Bernard Lewis](http://www.nationalreview.com/impromptus/impromptus042403.asp), the great and humane Middle East scholar, says that Chalabi is the best hope in this historic, perilous, and pivotal period for Iraq. OTOH many pundits are attacking him. E.g., Maureen Dowd wrote > [@](#): > > The Pentagon could easily have saved the national museum and library if they had redeployed the U.S. troops assigned to guard Ahmad Chalabi, the Richard Perle pal, Pentagon candidate and convicted embezzler who is back in Iraq trying to ingratiate himself with the country he left 40 years ago. She also accused conservatives of “protecting their interests by backing a shady expat puppet.” A defence to the embezzlement accusation of is offered. > [@](#): > > In 1989, he was accused of embezzling millions of dollars from a Jordanian bank. Chalabi says that the charges were politically motivated because of Jordan’s ties with Iraq and that the matter can be easily resolved. “It’s going to be more awkward for them than for me,” he said in January. My own feeling is that those in Iraq with leadership experience will be Ba’athists and their supporters. So we will have to look outside the country for new leadership with democratic values. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/2 "2003-04-24T15:53:15Z")
> [@](#): > > So we will have to look outside the country for new leadership with democratic values. So you don’t believe we should be installing Chalabi, either? ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/3 "2003-04-24T16:08:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > \*\*So you don’t believe we should be installing Chalabi, either? \*\* Chalabi has been outside Iraq throughout Saddam’s rule. He has leadership experience, and he has been an opponent of the Ba’ath Party. It appears that is supported by the Defence Dept. and the right, and he is opposed by the State Dept. and the left. I do not know why he’s a polarizing figure. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/4 "2003-04-24T16:34:59Z")
> [@](#): > > he is opposed by the State Dept. and the left When did the CIA join the Left? Where has he demonstrated any appreciation for (or interest in) Democracy? I suspect that the opposition he has encountered is closely tied to the recognition that he is perceived _in that region_ as lacking in honesty and in desiring power for personal gain. Even _if_ Chalabi was “framed” (a point I find unlikely in terms of the Guardian’s story [Financial scandal claims hang over leader in waiting](http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,936196,00.html)), the perception in the region will still taint him. Having the U.S. secretly fly him into the country further puts the stamp of “puppet” on him. (By my reading, I am sure that he has no intention of being a U.S. puppet; I suspect, rather, that he simply wants the power (and graft?) for himself.) ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/5 "2003-04-24T16:43:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > When did the CIA join the Left? Good point. I failed to mention that elements of the CIA oppose him. > [@](#): > > Where has he demonstrated any appreciation for (or interest in) Democracy? Don’t know. > [@](#): > > Even _if_ Chalabi was “framed” (a point I find unlikely in terms of the Guardian’s story… Yep, they sure make him sound guilty of something. > [@](#): > > Having the U.S. secretly fly him into the country This mystifies me. How could the US have “secretly” flown him into Iraq, givem that the trip was reported in the media? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/6 "2003-04-24T17:06:45Z")
Chalabi was cutoff from State Department funding when he couldn’t account for tens of millions of US taxpayers dollars. Before he was cutoff, but after misappropriations of money were suspected, the State Department hired accountants etc for Chalabi to help him. Chalabi has an advanced degree in mathematics and ran a bank. Surely he can balance books. I suspect that this has some bearing on the SD’s take on Chalabi. It’s worth noting that the Swiss don’t trust him with money either because of fallout and shoddy accounting practices that became evident in other businesses that were owned by him or his immediate family memebers. Apparently, loans were granted by Petra Bank to Chalabi family businesses, ( gold and currency exchanges). Some of these businesses had to be liquidated by the Swiss. The loaned money wasn’t in those businesses either. Jordanians had to foot the bill to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Even if this was an elaborate scam to incriminate a friend of the Jordanian royal family, the taint of scandal is strongly upon him in the ME. He’s not a candidate who is trusted. **How could the US have “secretly” flown him into Iraq, givem that the trip was reported in the media?** AFAIK, the trip was reported in the media _after the fact_. There was a program that was underway to train Iraqi intermediaries to assist the US troops in post-war Iraq that was suddenly halted. So I suppose that the reference to secrecy is related to this ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/7 "2003-04-24T17:08:20Z")
> [@](#): > > How could the US have “secretly” flown him into Iraq, givem that the trip was reported in the media? The trip was not announced in advance, (despite the fact that he heads the INC), and it was not reported until he began showing up in meetings in Iraq. It also appears, (although I have not seen this explicitly stated), that he was flown directly to Baghdad by the military while most other “civilian” visitors arrive in Kuwait and make the trip north over the highways. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/8 "2003-04-24T17:13:06Z")
While Chalabi has said that he doesn’t want a leadership role in the Iraqi government, the INC has been touted as the core of the new Iraqi army and apparently has an agreemet w/ the US military to recieve all of the former Iraqi armie’s arms and equipment. The “Mayor of Baghdad” is reportedly an INC member. Chalabi does want to have a hand in setting up the new Iraqi reegime and army and he does want US taxpayers dollars destined to go to the rebuilding of Iraq to go through his hands. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/9 "2003-04-24T17:14:45Z")
Oh yeah, expat puppet is my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/10 "2003-04-24T17:16:12Z")
I watched a press conference with Kanan Makiya last night. Someone has asked him if there was a smear campaign in effect against Chalabi at present; Makiya said of course there is, there has been a smear campaign against the INC and all of its members, ongoing. It’s two-fold. One the one hand they are dismissed by the “elites” for being outsiders whom no one will accept, or the matter of the previous scandal, and on the other to the Muslim world it is suggested they are focusing on things like homosexual rights in the INC…maybe they are and maybe they aren’t, but reported like that it’s not meant as a nod of approval. The State Department doesn’t trust him…or maybe its that the State Department doesn’t think he’s “palatable” enough for the Arab League, that Chalabi doesn’t their profile and could be a polarizing figure. Hmm. The more I see of INC members, the more impressed I am with their vision and committment to Iraq, which does not necessarily mean “pro-US” in everything they do. I do not think there is a better choice to lead the efforts to build Iraq national unity than from the INC. Individual members may have individual faults…at this time, I don’t see Chalabi actually in charge of anything. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/11 "2003-04-24T17:20:05Z")
“Ahmad Chalabi: Best Hope for Iraq or Shady Expat Puppet?” Are those the only choices? He sure looks a bit like a “shady expat” although I don’t know about the puppet part. He claims he’s not a candidate for anything. Yeah, if you believe that, there’s this bridge over the Euphrates I hear is for sale… Are there any Kurdish Shi’a married to a Sunni Arab who wasn’t associated with the Ba’ath party? That’s the guy I’m rooting for. ---
**Author:** ![TVAA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TVAA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVAA)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/12 "2003-04-24T17:21:09Z")
Just to be the Devil’s Advocate: Couldn’t he be both? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/13 "2003-04-24T17:22:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tee \* > \*\*…at this time, I don’t see Chalabi actually in charge of anything. \*\* Just the de facto new Iraqi army and the party that is in charge of Baghdad and the US monies headed to Iraq. It is\* possible\* that he’ll be able to ply his control of the Army and Baghdad and immense amounts of US aid into _some sort_ of political advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/14 "2003-04-24T17:33:38Z")
Chalabi essentially hasn’t been in Iraq since 1958, which for some raises questions on how ‘in touch’ he may be with the country. According to Molly Ivins, “\*n 1992, he was convicted on multiple counts of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Jordan after the failure of his bank there. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He escaped from Jordan, reportedly in the trunk of a car, and wound up in London.” NOT the guy who’d get my vote for leading a democratic Iraq. Even worse, some have proposed that (instead of the whole country) he be in charge of FINANCES. Come on. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/15 "2003-04-24T17:36:06Z")
My very offhand take on all this is, “What are we doing, picking a leader for the Iraqis?” I really don’t know shit about Chalabi, but I understand there are a half-dozen or so expat Iraqi groups; by picking the leader of one such group, taking him under our wing, flying him over there (I assume; he was in Iraq awfully quickly after Baghdad fell), etc., we’ve chosen amongst them, rather than letting the Iraqi people do that. That just isn’t the right way to handle this. I realize _someone_ has to be ‘in charge’ right now, but here’s my take on that: Either (a) that’s what Jay Garner is for, and while he gets the country operational again, the leaders of the expat groups, and any Iraqis who want to put their names forward, should compete equally to take over once he’s gone; or (b) Chalabi should be the guy in charge, but specifically as an interim-only leader, to run things for, say, eighteen months, then hand over the government to a democratically-elected leader. The main thing is, it’s not for _us_ to decide whether he’s the ‘best hope’ for Iraq in anything besides a very short-term capacity. If he wants to be the real deal, then he should renounce any special association with the US government, and take his chances with all the other would-be Iraqi leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/16 "2003-04-24T17:51:14Z")
Agreed. But then again, the US hand-picked Karzai in Afghanistan. It’s not for American to pick Iraq’s leaders, but I think that’s going to become a VERY tricky situation shortly, since I think the new Iraq will be a theocracy, and people may live to regret that. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/17 "2003-04-24T17:53:18Z")
**This is who is expected to run post-war Iraq for the US, Ahmed Chalabi, "one of the most notorious crooks in the history of the Middle East."** Here’s a little about the _next_ in a string of Iraqi government leaders appointed by the West in general and the US in particular. [Rumsfeld’s and Wolfowitz’s](http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/5574270.htm) #1 contender is a man named Ahmed Chalabi. The State Department, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of Chalabi being in charge of Iraq. The State Department is [known to have favored](http://www.townhall.com/columnists/joelmowbray/jm20030407.shtml) former Iraqi Foreign Minister [Adnan Pachachi](http://www.middleeastreference.org.uk/iraqiopposition.html). Even though Chalabi’s American backers are protrayed as “[run[ning] the gamut from far right to extremely far right”](http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/21/dreyfuss-r.html) it’s not hard to find quotes like this one from 1999 by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of all people. [“He is a person of strength, principle and real national commitment.”](http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/chalb.htm) A brief bio of Chalabi shows there’s more than one reason for the lack of confidence expressed by his critics. Chalabi is the London-based leader of the [Iraqi National Congress (INC)](http://www.inc.org.uk/) Chalabi was born in 1945. His family is an oligarchic Shi’a family with close ties to the Hashemite monarchy **installed by British imperial authorities in Iraq** after World War I. Chalabi’s grandfather served in nine various Iraqi cabinet positions, his father was a cabinet officer and president of the Iraqi senate, and his mother ran political salons that catered to Iraq’s elite. In 1958 a coalition of army officers and the Iraqi Communist Party led a revolution that toppled King Faisal II. The Chalabis left. Ahmed Chalabi has spent most of his life outside Iraq. Chalabi lived in Jordan, Lebanon, the United Kingdom and the United States. He attended MIT earned a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Chicago. He taught math at the American University of Beirut. In 1977, Chalabi went to Amman Jordan at the invitation of Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan to establish the Petra Bank. Petra bank became the second-largest commercial bank in Jordan. Jordan’s Central Bank Governor, Mohammed Said Nabulsi, describes what happened to Petra bank like this: > [@](#): > > “The Central Bank began noticing signs of financial irregularities at the Petra Bank between 1982 and 1985, but not enough for a solid case,” he said. "When I came back as governor in 1989, Jordan was suffering from acute fiscal and monetary problems. The depletion of our monetary reserves was of grave concern to King Hussein who asked me to take over again as governor. > "But as I addressed our Central Bank crisis, I discovered Petra had a huge problem of equal dimension. I asked all Jordanian banks to deposit 30 percent of their hard currency holdings with the Central Bank. Of the 20 banks solicited, only Petra was unable to transfer anything, yet it had $200 million on its books. I then conducted a full examination of **Petra’s books and concluded they had been cooked and that Ahmad Chalabi was the master cook** who had been in collusion with his auditors. > "I then asked King Hussein whether anyone was above the law as I was aware of **Chalabi’s closeness to Crown Prince Hassan**. The king told me there were no exceptions and to proceed according to the law of the land. > "Petra also had a branch in Beirut called MEBCO that was liquidated by the Central Bank of Lebanon and his brother, who had flown the coop, was sentenced to 2 years in absentia. Swiss authorities also liquidated MEBCO Geneva. Petra in Amman was picked clean before Chalabi took off a few steps ahead of law enforcement. Petra in Washington D.C. called me with a demand that all depositors be paid off immediately. The U.S. Federal Reserve asked for payment in full --$300 million as required to cover all losses. > "I then formed six committees, each with three members, to conduct separate investigations. Their findings were given to the public prosecutor’s department. Chalabi was found guilty and all those who had investigated can attest Chalabi was not framed as he claims. > “Civil court actions followed as the liquidation agency attempted to recover some of the losses. The total loss climbed to $500 million, of which $300 million was paid to depositors by the Central Bank at the direction of King Hussein. Another $200 million was obtained from the liquidation of assets.” > **“Chalabi was one of the most notorious crooks in the history of the Middle East."** > [_NewsMax link_](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/11/30/130012.shtml) Jordan eventually had to pump hundreds of millions into the Petra Bank and its allied institutions to keep them liquid. Jordan then arrested Petra’s chief currency trader. According to a 1989 article in the Financial Times, to avoid arrest Ahmed Chalabi fled the country “under mysterious circumstances.” > [@](#): > > “He was sentenced [in absentia] April 9, 1992, to 22 years hard labor by a Jordanian state security court on 31 charges of embezzlement, theft, misuse of depositor funds and speculation with the Jordanian dinar. The court also handed down harsh sentences and fines to 16 others, including several brothers and close relatives who were members of the board of Chalabi’s Petra Bank, or owners of affiliated companies”.[link](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/11/30/130012.shtml) (Tougher than how the US dealt with Enron’s execs) Reports are that numerous small buisness people who had for the first time trusted a bank lost all and committed suicide. Jordan seized the Petra Bank under martial law, and arrested its chief currency trader. Jordan then used its central bank to pump $164 million into the Petra Bank and its allied institutions to keep them liquid. **Chalabi reportedly got away with more than $70 million.** INC spokesman, Zaab Sethna, said that King Hussein of Jordan executed a politically motivated coup against Chalabi in coordination with Iraq because Chalabi was “using the bank to fund [Iraqi] opposition groups and learning a lot about illegal arms transfers to Saddam.” Whether or not this is true, it’s undisputed that Petra Bank, went bust and somewhere in the neighborhoood of $300 million in depositors’ accounts vanished. Chalabi moved to London and founded the Iraqi National congress. In the early nineties the INC had headquarters, a radio station and a small army in the Kurdish territory in northern Iraq that the US protected. The CIA spent more than $100 million with the INC being a primary beneficiary. **Chalabi says the INC received $15 million or less**. The INC attempted an offensive against the Iraqi army in March 1995. This ended with death or imprisonment for hundreds, or thousands, of Iraqis. Chalabi blamed the CIA. Chalabi said the problems were due to the CIA’s infighting about whether an opposition group dominated by Kurds and Shiites could be effective in Iraq. October 1996, the INC was ousted from Iraq when the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) asked Saddam Hussein for help in taking over territory held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The Iraqi army eliminated all INC bases in the north. More than 100 INC officials and soldiers were executed. We, the U.S. government, brought 7,000 of them to America. The INC’s tragic downfall and **more allegations that Chalabi misused/ embezzled money** have left Chalabi without much support. [”In a classified report, CIA has reportedly concluded that Chalabi has little popular support among the Iraqi people.”](http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_230157,0005.htm) A quote from _before_ October 1996 is telling: > [@](#): > > “Universally, there isn’t a government in the region that takes the outside opposition seriously,” one senior administration official said. > The ruling Sunnis of Saudi Arabia distrust Chalabi in part because he is Shiite, a branch of Islam whose adherents make up just over half of Iraq’s 22 million inhabitants. The Kuwaitis do not believe he could inspire a successful revolt and refuse to give him a staging area. Jordan would put him in jail were he to return because of the banking fraud. And on the other side of Iraq, Turkey wants nothing to do with Chalabi or his plan.[link](http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/chalb.htm) **"A lot of people are fed up with him. He does not listen to anybody,"** Zubair Humadi, an independent Iraqi opposition figure who participated in the INC’s founding meetings. **“He ran the INC into the ground.”** Farhad Barzani, the Kurdish KDP’s Washington representative, said Chalabi left “a lot of debts,” delayed payment to some INC officials when he left northern Iraq and refused to disclose details about the INC’s finances to its members. [link](http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/chalb.htm) **U.S. officials suspended funding to the INC in January 2002 because it failed to account for tens of millions of dollars in U.S. aid. According to the US state department an audit of the group had revealed serious “financial management and internal control weaknesses” in its handling of the U.S. funds.** [link](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-010502iraq.story) The Pentagon took over payments to the INC. According to the[BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/not_in_website/syndication/monitoring/media_reports/2291649.stm) in 2002 Chalabi is quoted by the German weekly Die Zeit as having said “Personally, I will not run for any office, and I am not seeking any positions. My job will end with the liberation of Iraq from Saddam’s rule." The Beeb also quotes the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan as saying Mr Chalabi and the INC “are failures and are not even qualified to run a grocery shop”. > [@](#): > > [It was information provided by Chalabi](http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/5574270.htm) that led Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to a prewar belief that Iraqis would rise up and welcome the invading coalition forces with open arms, that the Republican Guard troops would surrender in droves… In the past week, we, (the American military), flew Chalabi and 700 of his troops from northern Iraq to Nasiriyah. The Iraq National Congress said the troops are designated the 1st Battalion of Free Iraqi Forces and are “integrated alongside American troops,” under Gen. Tommy Franks. Senior administration officials said that Chalabi may have tapped the **Badr Brigade, an Iranian-backed** Shiite Muslim group. The current plan is for Mr Chalabi to take over from Gen Franks once a conference of Iraqi opposition leaders could be convened. > [@](#): > > [Reuters](http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2523248) > Middle East expert Shibley Telhami said the INC deployment reflected the ascendancy in the United States of the group’s allies in the Pentagon and this should ensure the opposition movement has a significant role in the next government. “Those who support the neoconservative vision pushed by some people in the Pentagon now have the upper hand – and the INC is part of that,” said Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. > “Now one has to argue that the role could be significant since their coalition partners in U.S. politics are likely to be in a dominant position for the moment,” he added. > Chalabi’s prominent role could be a blow to the Iraqi plans of the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, which have argued that he has no standing inside the country > [@](#): > > [\* > Washington Post Staff Writers > Sunday, September 15, 2002; Page A01\*](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A18841-2002Sep14?language=printer) > Ahmed Chalabi, the INC leader, went even further, saying he favored the creation of a U.S.-led consortium to develop Iraq’s oil fields, which have deteriorated under more than a decade of sanctions. **“American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil,” Chalabi said.** Even though the US has specifically said on a number of occasions that they wanted Iraqis to choose their own government and that we are not trying to elevate one figure over another we have decided that the Iraqi National Congress headed by Ahmed Chalabi will be: [“core of the new Iraqi army once Iraq is free”](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42859-2003Apr6.html) and apparently have an agreement with the INC that they “will receive all the weapons captured from the Iraqi army.” We may not determine who the political leader of post-occupation Iraq will be, but we have already decided who the legitimate military force of Iraq will be. There is at least a small possibility that the INC will be able will be able to play the US recognition as _the_ legitimate armed forces for Iraq, the **US funding of the INC** , ($8 million a year) and all of the weapons of the Iraqi army to its advantage in some clever, unforseeable way. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > [\* > link\*](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52283-2003Apr7.html) > Those who went on the planes without guns, I told them, ‘Soon you’ll have so many you’ll have to burn them,’ " said **Nabil Moussawi, a senior official of the Iraqi National Congress** , the opposition group that controls the fighters the United States airlifted to Iraq’s south. “We have an agreement from the United States Army that we will receive all the weapons captured from the Iraqi army,” Moussawi said The INC has suffered major credibility problems in the US, the Middle East in general and in Iraq specifically. In the US, the CIA and the State Department have concerns about tens of millions of US taxpayers’ money that went to the INC under Chalabi’s direction but is now unaccounted for. They are also seen by the State Department and the CIA as lacking any real support in Iraq. The INC has[“replied](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52283-2003Apr7.html) that its most crucial support is meant to be invisible: intelligence networks and discreet undergrounds…” (Umm…riiiight. Yeah, that’s the ticket. And they’re so discrete that even the CIA can’t know about them.) The INC also has credibility problems as a fighting force. > [@](#): > > [_link_](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/7/204930.shtml) > Former **U.S. Central Command** chief **Gen. Anthony Zinni** once famously derided the **INC as “silk-suited, Rolex-wearing guys in London.”** Zinni still believes Chalabi’s acceptability to the people of Iraq is in doubt. Zinni told UPI Monday the Iraqis would likely reject “those viewed as maybe imposed on them by the United States.” In Iraq the INC is known for its disastrous CIA backed campaign againts Saddam Hussein. Two of the most prominent Kurish groups, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), along with a number of other opposition groups, pulled out of the INC as a result. Here’s some interesting snippets from report of the INC’s first few days back in Iraq: > [@](#): > > [_link_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52283-2003Apr7.html) > Certainly the irregulars assembled as the militia of the INC, an exile group based in London, appeared to be something less than an effective fighting force. In the two months the brigade took to muster in this lakeside village in Iraq’s autonomous north, they failed to impress their neighbors – Kurds weaned on a martial tradition. > “One of the soldiers was trying to assemble a BKC,” said Jawad Pirot, referring to a Russian-made heavy machine gun. “And he couldn’t do it. He came over to one of the pesh merga [Kurdish fighters], who showed him how to do it.” > The INC, one of six anti-Hussein groups working with the United States, is often criticized by other opposition groups for its apparent lack of grass-roots support inside Iraq. > Maitham Hadi, a Iraqi army brigadier until he defected in 1986, listed the familiar challenges the INC will face among Iraqis. Unlike the Kurds, it holds no territory. Unlike Hakim, Chalabi claims no significant popular support. “He is a stranger to the land,” Hadi said. What duties are we counting on these 700 some odd people who are the “core of the new Iraqi army”? > [@](#): > > [\* > Zaab Sethna, INC spokesman\*](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42859-2003Apr6.html) > Asked what missions the INC force expected to undertake, Sethna mentioned distributing humanitarian supplies, protecting U.S. military supply lines, maintaining law and order, and rooting out paramilitary fighters from Saddam’s Fedayeen and the Baath Party Richard N. Perle and former CIA director R. James Woolsey try to counter observations of these obvious faults by [saying](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42859-2003Apr6.html) that Chalabi’s “experience outside Iraq and his longtime commitment to the overthrow of Hussein and to _other administration goals in the Middle East_ make him well-suited to play a leading role.” **I’m** saying that **if** we _were_ to try to establish some sort of a puppet regime to extend imperialistic hegemony, it **might** _look_ just like this. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/18 "2003-04-24T17:59:15Z")
You mean you don’t see Dick Cheney’s hand up Chalabi’s rear? :eek: Like [Karzai in Afghanistan,](http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/03/07/stories/2003030704311200.htm) Chalabi has the Dubya Seal of Approval because he supports the Administration’s energy buddies. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/19 "2003-04-24T18:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SimonX \* > \*\*Just the de facto new Iraqi army and the party that is in charge of Baghdad and the US monies headed to Iraq. > > It is\* possible\* that he’ll be able to ply his control of the Army and Baghdad and immense amounts of US aid into _some sort_ of political advantage. \*\* Oh, no…not _political advantage._ You’re making him out to be our hand-picked President already. And if Molly Ivins hates him, he’s just gone up in my estimation. > [@](#): > > **The INC has suffered major credibility problems in the US, the Middle East in general and in Iraq specifically.** So does anything else the US supports. By itself, this doesn’t say much. ---
**Author:** ![ElJeffe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ElJeffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElJeffe)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872/20 "2003-04-24T18:11:19Z")
So to those who would oppose Chalabi taking over leadership of Iraq, who would you propose? Saying “we should let the Iraqis choose their own leader” seems foolish in the short run, as I can’t imagine Iraqis holding anything resembling a successful democratic election at this point. Personally, I like RTFirefly’s choice B - letting Chalabi serve as leader for now, until a decent government can be cobbled together, then allowing the Iraqis to choose. As to the OP proper, while I think Chalabi’s past is fairly suspect, I hardly think him a puppet, and I’ve yet to see anyone better for the role. Jeff [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahmad-chalabi-best-hope-for-iraq-or-shady-expat-puppet/170872.md?page=2)