thinkprogress.org — PHOTOS: Disgraced Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi had ?re-emerged as a central figure? in the U.S. strategy for Iraq. Today, Blackanthem.com reports that Petraeus has been trumpeting his new alliance with Chalabi, introducing him to U.S. troops serving in Iraq.
Oct 31, 2007 View in Crawl 4
ichingNov 1, 2007
Before the war, Chalabi provided faulty intelligence on Iraq’s supposed weapons programs, helping launch the war. He was investigated for allegations that he passed intelligence to Iran, “wrongdoing that could have endangered American troops and American lives,” according to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). Furthermore, Chalabi has alliances with militia leader Muqtada al Sadr, who has led a “series of uprisings against the U.S. military.”In February, Chalabi became a lead figure in building Iraqi support for the Bush administration’s escalation plan. Subsequently, he “sabotaged” de-Baathification reforms. Nevertheless, Petraeus’s spokesman insists that Chalabi “has a lot of energy.”Chalabi was convicted in absentia in Jordon on more than 30 counts of embezzlement, theft and fraud after the mysterious crash of Petra Bank, a large financial institution he founded and ran in Amman. (In some profiles, this episode is described discreetly as his "controversial past.") By the time he fled, Jordan's central bankers were trying to uncover what had happened to about $300 million in missing deposits.<a class="user" href="http://www.observer.com/node/47372">http://www.observer.com/node/47372</a>