Chalabi's Raiders

Here's what struck me the most in the Knight-Ridder article on (the lack of) post-war planning in Iraq on the weekend:

Within 48 hours of their arrival in Baghdad in April, some of Chalabi's men, including members of his personal bodyguard force, began taking cars, bank accounts and real estate, said a senior military officer who received reports of the events. It became evident almost as quickly that Chalabi and other exiles had a larger political following in the Pentagon than they did in Iraq. Intelligence officials now charge that Chalabi or some of his senior aides were paid agents of Iran's intelligence service, and that Chalabi or his security chief provided classified U.S. military information to Iran. Chalabi has denied the allegation.

(via Atrios)

Many of us have been puzzled that Iraqis would react to liberation by trashing their own place. This is the first clear indication I've seen that Ahmed Chalabi's noble raiders--the people who were going to save the country, do all the dirty work for the U.S., produce the cakewalk, the roses, and the statue of Bush--the people Rumsfeld agreed to fly into the country so that their noble deeds could commence without delay--were among the first looters.

I've enjoyed the book about "The Great Imposter"--the guy who manipulated the fairly crude paper ID of the 40s and 50s to keep getting himself nice professional jobs for which he had no real credentials. If someone could write a real book about Chalabi, how much better it would be. He got about $100 million of U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Mon Oct 18, 2004 5:41 pm MST by robertll | Email Article |

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Chalabi's Raiders