Chalabi Updates
So now we wait for developments.
One question: who is the American who got drunk and blabbed the one secret to Chalabi which, once it was transmitted to Iran and detected by the U.S., caused Chalabi to become persona non grata?
Why would the Iranians use the very communication system which, as Chalabi was telling them, the U.S. had cracked? It's hard to know how these things get started, but somehow, somewhere, the Iranians may have gotten the idea that Chalabi is a liar.
UPDATE: I guess the classic problem with a double agent is that you're never sure that he's yours, or that he never lies to you. The Iranians may also have concluded that the U.S. has not proceeded in Iraq as though they are well-informed about anything, so it was unlikely they were able to read every Iranian signal.
The bigger question: to what extent did senior people in both the Pentagon and the White House trust Chalabi implicitly as the Saviour of the Middle East? To what extent was he getting "secrets," and passing them along to Iran if he chose, on a regular basis?
Still bigger (I suppose): to what extent was the whole Iraq adventure "Let's Do What Ahmed Says"? If this is what happened, obviously part of Chalabi's genius is in persuading people the lines coming out of their mouths are indications of their own genius, not, say, idiotic parroting of what Chalabi has told them. More hints are showing up as to how he schmoozed absolutely everyone, using U.S. taxpayer money. Christopher Hitchens, Peter Galbraith, Judith Miller....
And on a similar subject, was Chalabi developing files on Americans to use for lobbying, schmoozing, or even, dare we say it, blackmail?
There's got to be a fascinating book here.
Finally, Josh Marshall still seems to think the Valerie Plame case could be a big deal.
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