Did anyone see '60 Minutes' re: Chalabi

[freethought]

This cannot bode well for our guys over there. We thought we had heard the last of him when the U.S. raided his compound. This man is truly a King of Snakes. I will give credit where credit is due, he is smart.
Mr.Chalabi, after his fall as the 'heir apparant' to Saddam, has re-engineered his political position over in Iraq. He has essentially become the 'Go-To Guy' if want to get anything done. Essentially forcing the U.S. to deal with him. Mr. Chalabi has played all sides of the political spectrum, Shia and Sunni alike and done it well. He has conned the Neocons. It is not entirely clear what it means for the future but it does not bode well to me.

[KoKo]

1. He has alot of help and I wonder if

Sibel Edmonds could expose some of his "help." With so much breaking with the Repug Crime Family one wonders if Edmonds doesn't hold the key to the biggest story. The lies that got us into Iraq. And, that's why she can't get her story heard. It must be so enormous that everyone is afraid of it.

If only it could be tied into "Big Tony, Little Tony and Pudgy" down in Ft. Lauderdale. (Abramoff) Who knows? Maybe it does all connect in some way.

We might even find out who killed JFK after this is all over.

[acmavm]

2. I think Mr. Chalabi is exactly where the neos intended him to be all

along.

We were had. Iranian spy my butt. That was nothing but a cover story.

[freethought]

3. You're probably right!! n/t

[pinto]

4. I didn't see 60 Minutes, has Chalabi been arrested yet?

Doubt it. Anyway, what's the take on the 60 Minutes piece?

[Child_Of_Isis]

5. Short story...

the raid allowed the Iraqi's to trust him. He got together a large team to guard the oil. That's as far as I got in the program.

[freethought]

6. The '60 Minutes' segment was an interview with Chalabi

He was evasive and interuptive to Leslie Stall. In summary Chalabi, after his fall from grace with the admin. has, through his own savy, worked himself into a position in wich the U.S. HAS to deal with him. If you want to get something done in Iraq he will be the man to deal with. He has successfully made political in roads with Sunnis and Shia. You want to know why Moqtat Al Sadr has been quiet lately, it is because Chalabi nudged him into a political arena and not the combat arena. I will give the man credit, he has played the political game very well. You could argue that maybe the neocons are trying to wriggle him back into the place they intended for him from the beginning. The segment gave no evidence of that. Chalabi, in time, just may get what he wanted, control over Iraq and its oil.

[pinto]

8. Thanks, didn't know the recents on the con man. He is a chameleon.

[freethought]

9. What's unsettling is that he was able to do this by using the

U.S. raid of his compound to his advantage with Iraqis. If he ever reaches the pinnacle of power in Iraq he may be able to do so without U.S. influence or help. He could, conceiveably, 'flip the U.S. the bird' and do whatever he wants. I am not sure if that is good or bad,although I would lean to bad. His hand would be on the oil spigot.

[pinto]

13. He's played both sides, shit...any side, for years. Has a warrant for em-

bezzelment still outstanding from Jordan, bank fraud, iirc. He was a director of an import/export bank there and absconded with funds, is the allegation.

[bermudat]

10. Bush didn't turn on him.

The Neocons sent Chalabi into Iraq as 'their man' but the Iraqis weren't having it. He had the stench of CIA on him. So a little drama was concocted that the US turned against him, his home was raided and that he was a spy for Iran. I don't believe a word of it. The State dept made up the whole thing about Chalabi being on the outs with the US so he could be their double agent in Iraqi affairs. He is being allowed to get jobs for tribal leaders to curry favor with them. Perhaps I've read one too many John Le Carre novels but I still think Chalabi still belongs to the Neocons.

[Ksec]

11. I wondered about that also

It could have been a ploy by the CIA to get the Iraqis on his side.

Thats VERY possible and it did cross my mind

[Ksec]

7. Saw it. Hes amazing at reinventing himself

When hes in charge, the theft of oil profits will abound. Right into his swiss bank account.

The fact that * turned on him gave the Iraqis more trust in him. They thought he was a puppet until that bust. Now they trust him and thats key to his rise in the leadership ranks.

I dont trust him. He used my family to get what he wanted . He used American lives for his own selfish reasons.

Iraq will be a mess for years to come.

[november3rd]

12. I saw some of that segment

I think it's propaganda set up for domestic consumption.

According to Seymour Hersch, Bushco was illegally funding Chalabi's run for Prime Minister, as well as promoting him with big tv advertising buys and ballot box stuffing operations north of Baghdad.

I think that Moktada al Sadr and the Sunnis want to make nice with Chalabi because he has the backing of the Americans. The Americans want to sell him to the Shiite and Sunni militia rank and file as an Iraqi first -- a homeboy who wouldn't sell out to the Americans.

The raid helped with that, but not enough. This show will produce more rancor among the American press and 'con media, so the Pentagon will point to it and say, "See, Chalabi isn't working for us!"

[freethought]

14. I never read the Sy Hersch article, so I have to claim ignorance

Several of you all are thinking along the same lines. Might it be worth to send '60 Minutes' an email stating your opinion? Might not make it on the air, but then again it might! Can't hurt!

[Massacure]

15. I have a feeling he is trying to reunify Iraq under his command.

It will be interesting to see if he ends up being another fellow like Saddam.

[freethought]

16. Wouldn't that be maximum in irony!

Wasn't that the third or fourth rationale for the invasion? To free an oppressed people from a brutal dictator. Brining liberty for those who yearn to be free!! Only to replace the previous tyrant with another tyrant. Typical!