Salon: Ahmed Chalabi's failed coup

Ahmed Chalabi's failed coup
The U.S. raids his home and headquarters in Iraq to foil his plot.

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By Andrew Cockburn



May 20, 2004 | The U.S. command in Baghdad raided Ahmed Chalabi's home and headquarters in Baghdad at dawn today. U.S. soldiers put a gun to his head, according to his nephew Salem Chalabi, the Associated Press reports. Chalabi aides blame the CIA and Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Why did the Bush administration turn against its former favorite Iraqi? Almost certainly because it realized that Chalabi, maddened by the realization that he was being excluded from the post-June 30 hand-over arrangements, was putting together a sectarian Shiite faction to destabilize and destroy the new Iraqi government. "This all started since Brahimi announced that Chalabi would be kept out of the new arrangement," says an Iraqi political observer who is not only long familiar with Chalabi himself but also in close touch with key actors, including U.S. officials at the CPA and Iraqi politicians.


"Ahmed is gathering groups to bring this new government down even before July 1. He is in a very destructive phase, mobilizing forces to make sure the U.N. initiative -- due to be announced in 10 days -- fails." Chalabi has reportedly been inflaming his recruits with reports that veteran Algerian diplomat Brahimi is part of a Sunni conspiracy bent on undermining the rights of Iraqi Shiites to hold power in Iraq.


Some of his followers are drawn from the faction of the historic Shiite Dawa Party that has been excluded from "official" politics by the occupation authority and that has been giving support in the streets to Muqtada al-Sadr. Others, however, are prominent in Iraqi politics, most notably Ayatollah Mohammed Bahr al-Uloom, a former chairman of the Iraqi Governing Council usually described as a "moderate" Shiite cleric. Bahr al-Uloom is also father of the minister of oil, Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloom, one of Chalabi's key allies and a potentially very profitable liaison. Two other members of the Governing Council are also considered close adherents of Chalabi, who recently inaugurated the Supreme Shia Council, modeled on a similar entity that flourished in Lebanon during that country's bloody civil war. Among other entities included in the council are Iraqi members of Hezbollah.

~snip~

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/05/20/chalabi/index.html

a wanted or convicted felon in Jordan...?

look under the definition of maggot in the dictionary, you'll find his picture.

Those meetings seemed very odd. I guess you can't let this guy out of your sight.

Of course, Chalabi might not be finished if he's struck a deal with the Shiites. Strange bedfellows.

It occurred to me that, with this now happening, I wonder how much Chalabi will turn? Will he decide that if he can't have it, nobody can, including bush's new "chosen ones"? Will he decide to screw 'em back, because he's feeling screwed now, himself? Will he start singing like a canary? Or a mockingbird, maybe?

This could be fun!

The bushies have SO lost control of this monster. And they're such control freaks to begin with, my-my-my.