Iranian Manipulation of John McCain

[kpete]

On November 24, 2003, Sally Quinn, on the pages of the Washington Post, quoted McCain as saying:

"He's a patriot who has the best interests of his country at heart," says Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/09/chalabi-mccain/

Iranian Manipulation of John McCain
By Duncan from Vista, CA - May 18th, 2008 at 7:37 pm EDT

......................

The entire story of the relationship between McCain, Chalabi, and Iran spans fifteen years, three administrations and two wars.

John McCain was one of Chalabis first patrons, dating their relationship to 1991, when McCain offered unqualified support to Chalabi and his International Committee for a Free Iraq, and was Chalabis man in the Senate to push for funding. In 2000, Chalabi endorsed McCains Presidential bid, knowing that McCain was working to free up 97 million in funding for Chalabis new group, the Iraqi National Congress.

In 1997, despite opposition from the Pentagon and the State Department, McCain co-sponsored The Iraq Liberation Act, which--McCain co-sponsored the Iraq Liberation Act, which committed the United States to overthrowing Saddam's regime and to funding opposition groups. McCain welcomed Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), to Washington and pressured the administration to give him money. When General Anthony Zinni cast doubt upon the effectiveness of the Iraqi opposition, McCain rebuked him at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

..................

Six months later, the Pentagon cut off funds to Chalabi, arrested Chalabi's aides, and raided Chalabi's house....as part of an investigation into the complete compromise of virtually all U.S. intelligence networks in Iran. Some patriot, huh? Chalabi sold us out....and he's the guy McCain--with all his "National Security" experience--went and championed."
http://springboarder.blogspot.com/2008/05/obama-hit-mccains-chalabi.html

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As recently as October, the Bush administration called him a "central figure in the latest US strategy."

Why was Chalabi, a known Iranian intelligence agent, made a central figure in the surge? A person in a position to know would be Charles Black, the Repub strategist who is and has been for years, head of the PR firm that represents Chalabi. Black is also McCains senior campaign advisor.Story is still unfolding as Obama and McCain begin debate. The Arizona Senator is bringing a slingshot to a gunfight.

more at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/duncancraig/gGBfC8

[lob1]

1. K & R. Wow, kpete, this is very powerful stuff. Good find.

[Maine-ah]

2. K&R - A must read!

[spanone]

3. k&r

[gatorboy]

4. Between this and McCain's Georgia connections, wouldn't this make him a danger to national security?

[NewJeffCT]

5. I hope somebody in the media brings this up...

besides Think Progress

[jaxx]

6. I knew something smelled about McCain.

He was a PNAC promoter. I didn't know this until I just googled McCain and Chalabi.


<snip> The question, if only Obama would ask, is simple: What in McCain's mind would a military victory in Iraq look like? One of the key instigators of the US invasion, McCain has suggested different answers over the years.

As president of the New Citizenship Project, founded in 1994, he helped create and raise funding for the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which neo-conservatives such as William Kristol, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz used to push their plans for a pre-emptive war against Iraq. McCain also gave early support to Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile who widely fabricated and skillfully publicized deliberate disinformation to scare Americans into believing that Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda and active weapons of mass destruction. McCain has recently tried to play down his relationship with the still-active Chalabi, especially since the CIA and others accused the Iraqi of secretly working with Iran.

A top Republican on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, McCain began publicly urging the United States to overthrow Saddam Hussein as early as 1997, calling on the Clinton administration to set up an Iraqi government in exile. The following year, he joined with Senator Joe Lieberman and others to introduce the "Iraq Liberation Act of 1998," committing Washington to fund Chalabi and other anti-Saddam opposition groups.

http://www.truthout.org/article/warrior-john-mccain-far-more-dangerous-than-bush