Is Chalabi really our go-between with Iran?

Claims that Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi credited with being an Iranian spy and with helping to start the war with Iraq, is now our go-between in negotiations with Iran cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Chalabi is like the proverbial cat with nine lives and he keeps turning up at critical times for US foreign policymakers dealing with the war in Iraq and our relations with Iraq’s neighbor, Iran.
The latest story to surface concerning him is that he has been acting as the linkman between our ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives of the Iranian government. It is known Khalilzad has been desperately trying to find a way of jump starting behind the scenes talks with Teheran about the ongoing nuclear crisis and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s support for Iraqi insurgents. Perhaps no better man to help him than Chalabi who was branded a spy by the CIA.
In the meantime, Chalabi’s critics remain dumfounded that he is still around and pulling the rings of US diplomats and policymakers but a close study of his history points to a cunning, manipulative and politically savvy individual. For example, even after it was shown his bogus defectors fed the Pentagon and CIA the information that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear program and mass stockpiles of nerve gas, his Iraqi National Congress continued to receive massive funding from Washington. He was one of the first Iraqi exiles the US flew into Iraq after the invasion. He was accompanied by his own little small army of militiamen and was installed in suites of offices in Baghdad. His brother was even given the job of spending millions of US dollars organizing war crimes trials, in particular the trial of Saddam.
As a prominent Shiite, Chalabi has always been a darling of the Neocons despite the fact he is still wanted on by Jordan for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from a bank there. Prior to the war, the Neocons saw the embezzler as Saddam’s replacement and the person who would lead a new Iraq into closer relations with Israel. He promised them as much. When the war began, he established close links to the powerful Shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani and advised the US to disband the Iraqi army, a move that has proved disastrous.
In the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, Neocons in Washington like Douglas Feith, the Prince of Darkness, Richard Perle, Vice President, Dick Cheney, and Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld were happy with their man Chalabi back in Iraqi to help with the restructuring but they did not count on the CIA. The agency was angry it had taken the hit for providing the White House with faulty intelligence leading up to the war even though most of that Intel came from Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress who were backed by Cheney and senior Pentagon figures. The CIA decided it was time for payback. The agency publicly branded Chalabi an Iranian spy and accused him of feeding Teheran secret codes the US used for its communications in the Middle East. His offices in Baghdad were raided and all his personal documents and computers were seized. He quickly fled to Iran but later returned to Iraq under the protection of the Shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani.
Just last year he returned to his former glory hole, Washington, to be wined and dined by many of his former Neocon buddies. They welcomed him home like a lost sheep even though the CIA had not backtracked on its claims that he was an enemy of the United States. The reason for the warm embrace in Washington, a year after his fall from grace, was that he remained a great survivor and a useful ally in Iraq. Despite the odds, and with Ayatollah Sistani’s help and no doubt with the assistance of the Iranian leadership which holds a powerful saw over the Shiite leadership in Iraq, he was back at the center of power politics in Baghdad. His reemergence proved once again that his Neocon allies in Washington still shaped Middle East policy.
Now that the embezzler, turned supplier of bogus intelligence and Iranian spy is back in play the CIA cannot be too happy and must be wondering if Chalabi will ever go away.



Claims that Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi credited with being an Iranian spy and with helping to start the war with Iraq, is now our go-between in negotiations with Iran cannot be dismissed out of hand.
Chalabi is like the proverbial cat with nine lives and he keeps turning up at critical times for US foreign policymakers dealing with the war in Iraq and our relations with Iraq’s neighbor, Iran.
The latest story to surface concerning him is that he has been acting as the linkman between our ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives of the Iranian government. It is known Khalilzad has been desperately trying to find a way of jump starting behind the scenes talks with Teheran about the ongoing nuclear crisis and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s support for Iraqi insurgents. Perhaps no better man to help him than Chalabi who was branded a spy by the CIA.
In the meantime, Chalabi’s critics remain dumfounded that he is still around and pulling the rings of US diplomats and policymakers but a close study of his history points to a cunning, manipulative and politically savvy individual. For example, even after it was shown his bogus defectors fed the Pentagon and CIA the information that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear program and mass stockpiles of nerve gas, his Iraqi National Congress continued to receive massive funding from Washington. He was one of the first Iraqi exiles the US flew into Iraq after the invasion. He was accompanied by his own little small army of militiamen and was installed in suites of offices in Baghdad. His brother was even given the job of spending millions of US dollars organizing war crimes trials, in particular the trial of Saddam.
As a prominent Shiite, Chalabi has always been a darling of the Neocons despite the fact he is still wanted on by Jordan for embezzling tens of millions of dollars from a bank there. Prior to the war, the Neocons saw the embezzler as Saddam’s replacement and the person who would lead a new Iraq into closer relations with Israel. He promised them as much. When the war began, he established close links to the powerful Shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani and advised the US to disband the Iraqi army, a move that has proved disastrous.
In the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, Neocons in Washington like Douglas Feith, the Prince of Darkness, Richard Perle, Vice President, Dick Cheney, and Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld were happy with their man Chalabi back in Iraqi to help with the restructuring but they did not count on the CIA. The agency was angry it had taken the hit for providing the White House with faulty intelligence leading up to the war even though most of that Intel came from Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress who were backed by Cheney and senior Pentagon figures. The CIA decided it was time for payback. The agency publicly branded Chalabi an Iranian spy and accused him of feeding Teheran secret codes the US used for its communications in the Middle East. His offices in Baghdad were raided and all his personal documents and computers were seized. He quickly fled to Iran but later returned to Iraq under the protection of the Shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani.
Just last year he returned to his former glory hole, Washington, to be wined and dined by many of his former Neocon buddies. They welcomed him home like a lost sheep even though the CIA had not backtracked on its claims that he was an enemy of the United States. The reason for the warm embrace in Washington, a year after his fall from grace, was that he remained a great survivor and a useful ally in Iraq. Despite the odds, and with Ayatollah Sistani’s help and no doubt with the assistance of the Iranian leadership which holds a powerful saw over the Shiite leadership in Iraq, he was back at the center of power politics in Baghdad. His reemergence proved once again that his Neocon allies in Washington still shaped Middle East policy.
Now that the embezzler, turned supplier of bogus intelligence and Iranian spy is back in play the CIA cannot be too happy and must be wondering if Chalabi will ever go away.