Review of Aram Roston's new Chalabi biography:"One of his key backers has been John McCain"

[laststeamtrain]

Go read Muckraked's review of Aram Roston's new Chalabi biography, The Man Who Pushed America to War:

Among the revelations:

- One of his key backers has been John McCain, who was one of the first patrons of Chalabi’s grand-sounding International Committee for a Free Iraq when it was founded in 1991. McCain was Chalabi’s favored candidate in the 2000 election since Chalabi knew that he would be able to free up the $97 million in military aid plus millions pushed through in Congress and earmarked for Chalabi’s exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, but held up by the Clinton State Department.

- Chalabi’s family runs much of Iraq’s economy: his grandnephew Hussein al-Uzri heads up the Trade Bank of Iraq, through which all Iraqi government purchases are made. That’s despite the fact that his only banking experience was handling software for ATM machines.

The day after Chalabi was confirmed as deputy prime minister, the bank signed a agreement with the family company, Card Tech, to provide card processing services for a range of Visa cards. The company was eventually sold to American company Total System Services for $54 million in July 2006.
Nephew Ali Allawi has an important role at the Trade Ministry and another nephew, Salem Chalabi, helped organize the prosecution of Saddam Hussein.

- Before and after the invasion, Chalabi met with Gen. Ahmed Frouzanda, a top Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force general, who was wanted by U.S. military and counterterrorism officials who considered him a “murderer of Americans.” Around the time of their spring 2004 meeting, the NSC learned that Tehran had been warned its codes had been broken, a high-level breach of U.S. intelligence. When the FBI tried to set up an interview with Chalabi, it never happened.

- Chalabi helped arrange meetings with the Iraqi oil minister for American oilmen like Bush fundraiser Albert Huddleston. Chalabi “fawned over the Texan,” taking him out and presenting him with gifts like a lavish crystal sculpture of an Iraqi reed house which had to be shipped back to his home in Texas....http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007126.html

[wildbilln864]

1. k&r! nt

:hi:

[shain from kane]

2. Did McCain lobby for Chalabi? n/t

[UTUSN]

3. K&R #2 n/t