Max Boot has an excellent piece today in The Los Angeles Times on the redemption of Chalabi via the recent Robb-Silberman Commission report on intelligence dealing with Iraq. While individuals throughout the MSM hemmed and hawed about Chalabi either duping America into Iraq via faulty intelligence, being a spy for Iran, Boot points out that the report cleared the Iraqi exile of such allegations. Instead of an enemy to America, which the CIA clearly believed, Ahmad Chalabi was actually a great friend to this nation. Boot clearly lays this out in the following paragraphs:
This man risked his life and his fortune to overthrow one of the worst tyrants of the 20th century. He deserves better. More important, the U.S. would have done better in Iraq if it had been listening to Chalabi as much as conspiracy buffs claimed.I wished we had more friends like Ahmad Chalabi rather than our so-called allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. If we had more brave souls like Chalabi, the Middle East could pull itself out of the problems that currently plague the region. Luckily, people's true colors come out sooner than later.
In early 2003, the Bush administration ignored Chalabi's warnings that liberation should not be allowed to turn into occupation. Chalabi wanted to set up an interim government right away. The administration refused on the grounds that exiles had no standing in Iraq. So instead that well-known Iraqi, L. Paul Bremer III, was anointed potentate. His mistakes, which Chalabi criticized, resulted in a critical loss of momentum. A year later, the U.S. finally appointed a government headed by Chalabi's cousin and rival, Iyad Allawi. If an exile could be appointed in 2004, why not in 2003?
But don't worry about Chalabi. Unlike Secretary Donovan, he's done just fine. Contrary to CIA reports that he had no constituency, he has positioned himself at the center of Iraqi politics. He was a leading candidate for prime minister and will probably get a Cabinet post.
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