HE’S BACK
If you ask anyone who the most powerful person is in Iraq, you may get varied answers: the stooge prime minister; the stooge president; or even Sistani. They are all wrong. The most powerful person is Ahmed Chalabi. That is not a typo. A few days ago, he was named as the Minister of Oil for Iraq, albeit on a "temporary" basis until a permanent minister is appointed. Anybody who knows Chalabi realizes that he will turn the temporary position into a lifetime grant. The person who controls the oil controls the money in Iraq. That is whatever money is left over after the U.S.-stolen booty. Money (of the illicit kind) is Chalabi’s forte...
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HE’S BACK
Malcom Lagauche
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Ahmed Chalabi: always with his hands in the cookie jar
If you ask anyone who the most powerful person is in Iraq, you may get varied answers: the stooge prime minister; the stooge president; or even Sistani. They are all wrong. The most powerful person is Ahmed Chalabi. That is not a typo.
A few days ago, he was named as the Minister of Oil for Iraq, albeit on a "temporary" basis until a permanent minister is appointed. Anybody who knows Chalabi realizes that he will turn the temporary position into a lifetime grant.
The person who controls the oil controls the money in Iraq. That is whatever money is left over after the U.S.-stolen booty. Money (of the illicit kind) is Chalabi’s forte.
Handing the Oil Ministry to Chalabi is akin to giving him a printing press for money. His past is laden with schemes in various countries, the most recent in bilking the U.S. out of millions from the late 1990s until even today. Despite the U.S. saying it has cut the cash spigot to Chalabi’s group, some finances still make their way in that direction.
Chalabi’s past is laden with fraud, embezzlement and outright theft. In 1992, he was tried in absentia in Jordan and convicted to 22 years in prison with hard labor for his participation in the collapse of the Petra Bank.
Soon after, he began an organization called the Iraqi National Congress (I.N.C.), which had its headquarters in London. It was neither Iraqi, nor national, nor a congress. It was a front for Chalabi to gain more revenues with which to line his pockets.
One of the first marks he acquired was Washington, D.C. The Clinton administration embraced Chalabi and laid out $87 million for the I.N.C.
A few years later, Chalabi was asked to present an accounting for the money and could not even give one sheet of figures. By that time, even the administration was suspicious. Chalabi and his entourage were all living in expensive apartments in London, wearing thousand-dollar suits, and driving luxury automobiles.
In Iraq, the only venture he made was to be a part of a plot to overthrow Saddam Hussein. In 1996, in Irbil, the INC base was shattered by the Iraqi army and Chalabi fled the country.
When the Bush junta took over, it embraced Chalabi. He gave the warmongers much of the false information that Bush used to tell the world that Iraq was a huge military power just waiting to gas the entire world. And, even though that information was bogus beyond belief, Chalabi always got a financial cut from the U.S. for supplying drunken liars for interviews.
Until the illegal invasion of March 2003, Chalabi appeared to be the U.S. choice to run the country. Chalabi, in a false statement of humility said, "I am not seeking any position. My job will end with the liberation of Iraq from Saddam’s rule."
On April 6, 2003, Chalabi was flown into Iraq by the U.S. He had promised that he had more than 100,000 armed freedom fighters who would meet him and trek on to Baghdad. When the plane landed, there was not one warrior. This was the first instance in which the U.S. began to question the validity of its man in London.
During the chaos of the beginning of the occupation, Chalabi did well. He laundered old Iraqi money and laundered new Iraqi money as well as U.S. dollars. For awhile, he was a wanted man as the stooge government put out an arrest warrant for his financial shenanigans. But, as quickly as he was considered a fugitive, the charges were dropped. It was easy to pay someone off.
Not much has been said about Chalabi for the past six months or so. His name has been out of the press. And, with no fanfare, it was announced that he is now the Oil Minister of Iraq. Some palms were definitely greased.
The proverbial cat that has nine lives is nothing compared to Chalabi’s life and career. He has hundreds.
The San Diego, California, area has a handful of I.N.C. operatives. They pursue similar goals to those of Chalabi ($$$$), but on a smaller basis.
One of my best friends is an Iraqi-American who opposes the current occupation. During the 1990s, he attended many an event to get donations for the Iraqi people who were suffering from the embargo. His father, on the other hand, is a friend of Chalabi and is the local I.N.C. agent. You can imagine the political discussions that go on at their house.
Currently, the big thing in the Chaldean community is temporary work given to Chaldeans who get paid a handsome salary to go to a U.S. military base for a few weeks and act as demonstrators with U.S. troops trying to control them. This is supposed to get the troops ready for the real thing in Iraq.
Now, my friend’s father was not remiss in thinking he could make money off this. He charges each participant $400 as an agent’s fee. He also tells them that if they don’t pay this amount, they will not get work. Of course, this is a scam.
The same man, for years, has charged many Iraqi immigrants a fee for entering the U.S. He coaches them in what to say at the immigration point at the border: "Saddam killed my family," or "Saddam kills Christians in Iraq." The lies work. However, hundreds, or possibly thousands, of Iraqi immigrants did not have to pay a fee that he says is necessary.
I have written a few articles about the Chaldean community in the past and mentioned the scams some of the people use. They are identical to those of Chalabi, but not as lucrative.
A similar situation to naming Chalabi as head of the Oil Ministry would involve a retail store owner. Imagine a proprietor hiring someone who just was released from prison for a charge of embezzlement. And, the same person for the past 20 years had been in and out of prison for theft and fraud. Then, the store owner lets the person run the cash register. Chalabi is now running the cash register in Iraq.
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:: Article nr. 11432 sent on 01-may-2005 10:58 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=11432
Link: www.malcomlagauche.com/id1.html
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.
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