Chalabi now puts Iraq first

[maddezmom]

Chalabi now puts Iraq first

Editor's note: Ahmad Chalabi <1> is either a consequential figure of opaque, backstage talents, or he has an uncanny ability to the ride the momentum of enormously consequential events - placing himself at the right place, at the right time, among the right people to his overwhelming benefit. Chalabi was recently given an important new position in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government in Iraq, now tasked to build or maintain support for the ramped-up security regime by ensuring that Iraqi people are compensated for any damage or fallout resulting from more aggressive security.
Chalabi speaks to National Interest online editor Ximena Ortiz.

National Interest online: Some have called you a polarizing figure, one that has strong associations with certain parties, such as Iran, the Iraqi Shi'ite and, once upon a time, American neo-conservatives and Bush administration officials. You are now in a position geared towards fostering broad support, across all religious and ethnic groups, for ramped-up security in Iraq, especially Baghdad. To what degree will your efforts now be consumed with overcoming others' preconceptions regarding your sympathies and associations?

Ahmad Chalabi: The description you give of polarization and various associations - that is a concept that exists in the media in the United States and elsewhere in the Arab world. However, this is certainly not the case in Iraq. People do not perceive barriers in this way, and it is not even a subject for discussion at the popular level. It is a non-issue in Iraq, basically.

The point is that people here need to see that they are supported, that their fear of the future - the lack of security, the lack of services, that both those issues are addressed.

more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IC02Ak05.html

[acmavm]

1. Now isn't that special? Who wouldn't trust Ahmed? He's proved to be

of such stellar character and a paragon of virtue so far.

Extreme :sarcasm:

[wakeme2008]

2. WRONG -- Ahmad Chalabi put Ahmad Chalabi first second and third

:grr:

[maddezmom]

3. I know, but how does he keep fooling everyone??

He's got to know where the bodies are buried so to speak or where the billions are buried. I can't believe he's not rotting in some jail somewhere. Jordan, Iraq, or the US. :mad: