In Newsweek, Christopher Dickey reports the staggering array of positions that Chalabi has come to control within the Governing Council. He is head of the economics and finance committees, which oversee the ministries of oil, finance, and trade, as well as the central bank and several private banks. He also runs the De-Baathification Commission, and thus – if he manages to hang on to the post – holds potentially vast control over the flow of personnel into, or out of, any future Iraqi government.
Hey SimonX, does your crystal ball work as well on the stock market or the ponies? And if so, can I borrow it for a few hours?
One additional point about the de-Baathification post: I recently read that, as part of that deal, Chalabi got access to Saddam’s files, with all the blackmail possibilities that go with them.