Ahmed Chalabi, the disgraced Iraqi exile who misled the United States into Iraq, remains chairman of the Supreme National Commission for De-Baathification, “which continues to have ultimate authority to decide which ex-Baathists can return to work and which cannoot.”

Ahmed Chalabi, the disgraced Iraqi exile who misled the United States into Iraq,
Ummm, no. The decision to to invade Iraq was made a long time before Chalabi appeared on the scene. Saying the ‘misled the United States’ is giving him far too much credit, and giving the criminal elements that have hijacked this country a free pass.
Please correct this error.
January 14th, 2007 at 3:53 pmAhmed Chalabi, who garnered almost 0.2% of the popular vote in the last election remains in charge of the Iraqi oil, de-Baathification and chief purchasing officer for the wheat Iraq is supposed to purchase from Australia. Interesting. I wonder what else he is in charge of.
Isn’t democracy great?
January 14th, 2007 at 3:54 pmWhat do these people have against taking baths???
Oh, wait, I’m sorry. I read that wrong. Never mind.
Good night, everyone. I’m headed home to watch the second half of Mighty’s Losing Chargers’ game.
P.S. For those interested, there’s a new song parody up on my blog. Enjoy.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pm“Ahmed Chalabi, the disgraced Iraqi exile who misled the United States into Iraq…”
Chalabi who left Iraq in the 1950s and returned briefly in the 1990s but was somehow well versed in Iraq’s WMDs capabilities; Chalabi who was sentenced to 22 years of hard labor for massive bank fraud in Jordan; Chalabi who made it known he wanted to become leader of Iraq after Saddam’s ouster duped the Bush administration? Get real.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:38 pmPlease correct this error. - - Maybe the cannoot.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:45 pmSpy case puts Vice-President in the stand
A POLITICALLY charged courtroom drama centred on the Iraq war, a blonde-bombshell spy and a vice-president in the witness box will be on show this week when Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff goes on trial for his alleged role in the CIA leak scandal.
The roots of the scandal that led to Lewis “Scooter” Libby being charged with perjury lie in how the Bush White House justified the invasion, and the spin operation that it mounted after the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:52 pmIn one key respect, the six- week trial, which begins tomorrow, is unprecedented: the secretive Mr Cheney will enter the witness box as part of Mr Libby’s defence. It makes him the first sitting vice-president to testify in a criminal prosecution.
Chalabi is baaack, or he never left?
OK, is anyone else as confused as I am about who Bush is supporting in Iraq: Sunni or Shia? Let’s see: Maliki’s Shia government is OK, but Iran’s support for Shias isn’t. The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is least likely to be aligned with Iran, is an enemy. But the most likely Shia cleric to be aligned with Iran, al-Hakim, is a friend. Chalabi, who’s a discredited friend of Iran, remains a friend. But it’s the foreign jihadists operating under bin Laden’s direction in Iraq who are our real enemies—so things are becoming clearer. Even though there were even fewer of them there before we invaded. But we killed Zarqawi, who was a Salifist and not really a true blue al Qaeda, so things got better until they got worse. And Bush thinks Muqtada al-Sadr will attack Detroit any minute, even though he’s not al Qaeda, which is predominately Sunni. The Saudi Wahabists are still our friends even though they’re [unofficially] supplying Iraq’s Sunni militias, who are killing US troops.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:54 pmLeslie
The white house, pentagon and state department KNEW Chalabi inside out, knew he was a convicted FELON, and used him as window dressing or a front man on the selling of the war.
They needed an Iraqi crook to sell the war, and it didn’t matter who, so stop saying he “fooled” everybody, that’s laughable and let’s the bush crime family off the hook.
The needed somebody on the inside to help set up, what they REALLY wanted, the oil contracts, hence him becoming the minister of OIL! His son has direct connections to likudiks from Israel making money in Iraq.
January 14th, 2007 at 4:56 pmOK, is anyone else as confused as I am about who Bush is supporting in Iraq: Sunni or Shia? Let’s see: Maliki’s Shia government is OK, but Iran’s support for Shias isn’t. The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is least likely to be aligned with Iran, is an enemy. But the most likely Shia cleric to be aligned with Iran, al-Hakim, is a friend. Chalabi, who’s a discredited friend of Iran, remains a friend. But it’s the foreign jihadists operating under bin Laden’s direction in Iraq who are our real enemies—so things are becoming clearer. Even though there were even fewer of them there before we invaded. But we killed Zarqawi, who was a Salifist and not really a true blue al Qaeda, so things got better until they got worse. And Bush thinks Muqtada al-Sadr will attack Detroit any minute, even though he’s not al Qaeda, which is predominately Sunni. The Saudi Wahabists are still our friends even though they’re [unofficially] supplying Iraq’s Sunni militias, who are killing US troops. - - Please clarify with a flow chart.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:00 pmGood:
January 14th, 2007 at 5:02 pmNow maybe that will free up a few more Ba’athists to kill Chalabi.
…and the fox was heard to say “you know I can be trusted to watch the poultry.”
January 14th, 2007 at 5:03 pmThe Bush administration had it on ‘good authority’ the fox (Chalabi) was trustworthy - until the coop stood empy of all poultry.
The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is least likely to be aligned with Iran, is an enemy.
Actually, on this point, while al-Sadr has stated that he would be in solidarity with Iran should the US attack the latter, he is fairly vehement that Iraq not be an Iranian puppet - and he is something of an Arab Iraqi nationalist. The Shi’a parties most influenced by Iran are not the Sadrists, but the SCIRI and Da’wa.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:03 pmAnd the brother of this greaseball is the infamous and discredited “curveball.”
January 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pmwow, leslie… that was impressive…
January 14th, 2007 at 5:25 pmthing is, your information actually cleared up alot of MY confusion!…
i hope you are accurate about that who’s who list!… with peter’s correction in mind…
Ahmed Chalabi, the disgraced Iraqi exile who misled the United States into Iraq,
Ummm, no. The decision to to invade Iraq was made a long time before Chalabi appeared on the scene. Saying the ‘misled the United States’ is giving him far too much credit, and giving the criminal elements that have hijacked this country a free pass.
Please correct this error.
Comment by TripMaster Monkey — January 14, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
Exactly Trip..m.m
This war is a PNAC-neocon-facist-corporate-oil-banker-BUSH WAR!! A raid on the banks and oil fields!!!!
January 14th, 2007 at 5:41 pmYou think this list of “who’s really the enemy” is complicated?
Consider that our intelligence agencies blamed not Hezbullah, but Iranian-trained-and-sponsored Da’wa - now our favorite party in Iraq - for the Beirut embassy bombing back in Reagan’s era. Hezbullah was just a more convenient whipping boy, which is why it got the public blame.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:44 pmThe decision to to invade Iraq was made a long time before Chalabi appeared on the scene.
Chalabi has been on the scene longer than you think. His Iraqi National Congress was active in the misinformation campaign back in the mid-’90s, and he was aligned with the PNAC people from the beginning.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:46 pmChalabi still in charge of de-Baathification in Iraq.
Of course, he is.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmDoes anyone know if Chalabi resides in the Green Zone/?
January 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pmKaty & Peter,
I thought Peter was elaborating on what I said about al-Sadr, because his remarks don’t contradict mine:
The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is least likely to be aligned with Iran, is an enemy.
Peter: “Actually, on this point, while al-Sadr has stated that he would be in solidarity with Iran should the US attack the latter, he is fairly vehement that Iraq not be an Iranian puppet - and he is something of an Arab Iraqi nationalist. The Shi’a parties most influenced by Iran are not the Sadrists, but the SCIRI and Da’wa.”
But, anyway, glad someone is less confused than me now.
January 14th, 2007 at 5:59 pmYou’re right, Leslie. My brain mistakenly inserted an “at” in “is least likely”. 5 swats with the ruler for bad reading comprehension for me.
January 14th, 2007 at 6:08 pm“canoot”???
“canoot“???
Whadda we, in Canada, now?
c’mon TP. Don’t you have editors? (I’m available btw…)
Still, you gotta have a sense of humor about it,
January 14th, 2007 at 6:14 pmespecially when it doesn’t surprise you
anymore…
You might call that discrimination!
January 14th, 2007 at 6:20 pmIf they relly want stability in Iraq they should change strategy to a re-Baathification (i.e. secular political movement) to get Iraq people employed doing something.
Take some of those lucrative contracts off of Haliburton and get Iraqis back to work.
January 14th, 2007 at 8:14 pmLeslie has it on the money.
The US is not certain who is friend or foe, which is why a strategy to identify and kill this one and not that one just fuels further division. If this is our strategy then it FUELS civil war; it does not promote common ground.
January 14th, 2007 at 8:19 pmWouldn’t the best strategy be the debushification of America?
January 14th, 2007 at 8:24 pmand he is something of an Arab Iraqi nationalist
Is there another kind of Iraqi Nationalist?
January 14th, 2007 at 8:26 pmHezbullah was just a more convenient whipping boy, which is why it got the public blame.
Comment by Peter
BTW, when the (I dont know the translation but…) Freedom Organization for Palestine was detected by Israel as the possible government in Palestine, the jewish government decided to support Hezbollah as a counter-organization. Who would have thought?
January 14th, 2007 at 8:58 pmLeslie, you have about summed it up in #8.
January 14th, 2007 at 9:31 pm#27 - Oh, yeah. I M P E A C H ~~!!
January 15th, 2007 at 12:21 amChalabi is a criminal stooge, but everyone associated with Bush Regime is a shady person!
January 15th, 2007 at 5:45 amI’m glad to see the readers of Thinkprogress aren’t easily fooled by thinkprogress At least when it’s obvious. They do try periodically, though.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:25 amYou might want to call Chalabi “The Bush Crime Family’s Patsy.”
January 15th, 2007 at 8:26 amOh wait. That’s Osama bin Laden.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:26 amCan we call it a “Shiitefication”?
January 15th, 2007 at 9:30 amNOTHING good…
…is going to come…
…of Bushiva, L’il Dick’s and the right wing conned’selfservative-Zionist’s…
…grand schemes…
…Chalabi, Bushiva and L’il Dick’s constituency’s Karma…
…ensures their doom…
…evil only prospers for a short time…
January 15th, 2007 at 12:41 pmAmen to that!! He was just the idiot that gave the administration and neocons the excuse/scapegoat they needed if the proverbial poop hit the fan… which it has. TP should reword it as such or, at the very least, note the controversy.
January 15th, 2007 at 2:12 pmMy latest information says Chalabi is in London where his family lives . when he arrived in 2003 the first thing he did send his envoy Mithal al Allusi to Israel to attend a so called War on terror conference, mithal al allusi brother has business deals in North kurdistan with Israeli US businessmen. Mr Mithal Al allusi Had both his sons killed a few months after his trip to israel .
January 15th, 2007 at 8:02 pmIt looks like they’re De-Baathifying at the rate of 30 or more a day turning up in ditches.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:36 am