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Thursday, February 17, 2005
Chalabi -- the Iraqi politician who won't die
The next step in Iraq's march towards democracy is electing a Prime Minister, and it's shaping up to be quite an interesting story. The reason is Ahmad Chalabi.
Chalabi, a former leader-in-exile of the movement to depose Saddam Hussein, has come back from the dead more times than I can count. He has survived multiple assassination attempts (both physical and character ones), a phoney bank fraud conviction in Jordan, raids upon his political party headquarters, accusations of spying for Iranian intelligence, and much more.
But Chalabi has continued to forge ahead, steadfastly refusing to throw up the white flag. Already elected to the new Iraqi parliament, now he's a candidate for the Iraqi Prime Minister's job. While he's still considered a long-shot, Chalabi is leading a charge against the favourite, an Islamist candidate by the name of Ibrahim al-Jaffari. (David Frum is also on top of this story.)
Chalabi's latest comeback has really surprised his enemies, especially the Arabists in the U.S. State Department and the CIA, who've worked to sideline the man for years. It has also irritated to no end the elders of the Arab world's ruling Sunni clique such as Jordan's King Abdullah, the Saudi royals and other Gulf region potentates.
The reason they hate him is simple: he's a Shiite, he's pro-American, and he's a western-style democrat.
Chalabi being in charge of Iraq would be a positive thing for that country's future. I have been a fan since I covered him as a reporter in Washington and spent him time with him in Iraq after the war. I have never seen another actor from the Arab political world like him.
Those who care about creating a real democracy in Iraq should be pulling for a Chalabi victory.
Posted by Adam Daifallah on February 17, 2005 | Permalink
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