He looks guilty to me
Chalabi Changes Role After U.S. Fallout
By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer
NAJAF, Iraq - Shunned by his former American backers, Ahmad Chalabi is reinventing himself, bowing out of high-power bargaining over a new Iraqi government to attempt to play the role of peacemaker in this holy Shiite city.
The goal of the former exile seems to be to garner support among Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority and win friends among the powerful religious hierarchy ahead of a possible run in national elections in January.
Chalabi could also profit from criticism from Washington — including allegations he passed secret information to Iran — by bolstering his image among Iraqis fed up with the U.S. occupation.
So a man accustomed to the halls of Congress and the executive suites of international bankers is now negotiating with turbaned Shiite clerics in the baking heat of this dusty city south of Baghdad.
Time was when Chalabi, a secular Shiite who spent years in exile building influence in Washington, was considered the most likely choice to lead Iraq once Saddam Hussein's dictatorial regime fell.
However, the top post of prime minister in the interim government announced Monday went to Iyad Allawi, head of another former Iraqi exile group. Chalabi ended up without any job in the government, which will hold power from June 30 until the elections due by Jan. 31.
In fact, Chalabi didn't even take part in the final negotiations within the Iraqi Governing Council, of which he was a member.
Instead, he came to Najaf to try to help negotiate an end to two months of fighting between American soldiers and Shiite militiamen of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Those talks have not borne fruit yet, and clashes between the Americans and militiamen persist.
Chalabi's supporters say he aims to unite Shiites so they can be well prepared for the election, in which they expect to transform their demographic dominance into political power.
Whether Chalabi's gambit pays off remains to be seen.
After spending most of his life abroad, he has little popular support in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, or elsewhere in the mostly Shiite south.
"He is America's man," said Haidar Ali, a grocery store owner. "After his troubles with America, his interests required that he play this game in Najaf to boost his popularity. I don't think the people will buy this ploy."
Never liked by the CIA and State Department, Chalabi now finds himself accused of telling Iranian intelligence that the United States had broken Iran's secret codes — a charge he brands as "stupid."
Chalabi on Thursday accused George Tenet — who resigned as CIA chief earlier in the day — of being behind the accusations. "I denied these charges and I will deny them again," Chalabi told Associated Press Television News.
He railed against Tenet, saying his policies in Iraq over the past 10 years "caused the death of hundreds of Iraqis" and that he "provided erroneous information about weapons of mass destruction to President Bush."
The latter is a charge many have leveled against Chalabi, who for years pressed the United States to oust Saddam. His Iraqi National Congress reportedly passed on pre-war intelligence contending that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
Such intelligence is suspect since no weapons of mass destruction have been found. Last month, the Pentagon cut off its payments of $340,000 a month to the Iraqi National Congress.
Also, Chalabi has still not resolved a 1991 conviction in absentia in Jordan for fraud in a banking scandal. He was sentenced to 22 years in jail, but has denied all allegations against him.
Chalabi has refrained from public criticism of the White House for the latest barrage of attacks on him.
Instead, he casts the dispute in patriotic terms, accusing the U.S. occupation authority led by L. Paul Bremer of trying to silence him because of his demands for greater Iraqi self-rule.
Gamal Abdel Gawad of the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies believes Chalabi aims to win support among the "marginalized and radical groups within the Shiite community," represented by al-Sadr.
Chalabi is trying to position himself as the alternative to well-established Shiite leaders who already hold most mainstream Shiite support, Abdel Gawad said.
"There are many people who are complaining about U.S. policies," said Mahmoud Othman, a former member of the Governing Council. Chalabi's rift with Washington "could benefit him and give him some popularity among certain sectors of Iraqis."
Abdul Hassan Zaid, a carpenter who spoke from behind a wooden table on a deserted Najaf street, said he was impressed with Chalabi's effort on behalf of peace in Najaf.
"It's a good initiative to stop the shedding of Muslim blood," he said. "Before he challenged Saddam and now he's working for the people."