Posted on 01/21/2005 12:45:47 PM PST by areafiftyone
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's interim defense minister said on Friday the government would arrest Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi after the Eid al-Adha holiday for allegedly maligning the defense ministry. "We will arrest him and hand him over to Interpol.
We will arrest him based on facts that he wanted to malign the reputation of the defense ministry and defense minister," Hazim al-Shaalan told Al Jazeera television, adding the measures would start after the Muslim holiday which began on Jan. 20.
This is rich! They'll arrest him for defamation of character, but not for spilling the beans to Tehran.
If he gets handed to Interpol, they'll send him to Jordon to serve time for his conviction there.
Jeeze its nice of them to let him know so he can escape.
this Chalabi guy is the the biggest lying scum out for himself jackass that has come around the bend......WAIT, we just found the new DNC chair
LOL
""We will arrest him based on facts that he wanted to malign the reputation of the defense ministry and defense minister," Hazim al-Shaalan told Al Jazeera television, adding the measures would start after the Muslim holiday which began on Jan. 20.""
I guess since that Chalabi as Iranian Spy story didn't fly, this is the best they can do.
Could be, but it's hard to tell for sure since certain forces have concocted wild stories to sideline him. A den of snakes all.
Is it illegal to malign? I mean was he going to plant something or what was he going to do?
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/January/focusoniraq_January163.xml§ion=focusoniraq
Iraq defence minister says he will have Chalabi arrested before elections
(DPA)
21 January 2005
CAIRO - Iraqi interim Defence Minister, Hazim al-Shalan has said he will have Ahmed Chalabi, head of Iraqi National Congress (INC), arrested before the 30 January elections after Chalabi ”defamed” him, it was reported Friday.
Chalabi had earlier accused Shalan of stealing large sums of money and transferring them to a bank in Lebanon.
“I will take legal action against Chalabi and have him arrested after the (Eid al-Adha) feast,” Shalan told the London-based Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awsat.
Shalan said that he considered documents Chalabi had published on the INC website as “forged” and “made up by Chalabi himself”.
A US contractor slain in Iraq last month under mysterious circumstances had three days earlier accused Iraqi Defence Ministry officials of corruption, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress (INC) is a part of the United Iraqi Alliance, a mainstream Shiite coalition contesting the election in Iraq.
Whatever became of that, anyway? I haven't heard any updates on that in a few months, until this.
It died except for some occassional hopeful references from anti-"neo-con"-chattering-internet-class banter.
The story had an absurd element. Supposedly Chalabi tipped off the Iranian embassy in Baghdad the USA had cracked their code, so the Iranian embassy informed Tehran. How? By transmission using the same code.
I am still waiting for the evidence against Chalabi. This looks like a State Dept vendetta. There were charges against Fieth and then no news. Let us see the evidence and then decide. I reserve judgment until then.
Thanks for the update. I wonder if the sources in the Chalabi story are linked to Hersh's latest Iran-related story.
They should beware of the Eid's of March.
Here's a crazy idea: arrest him, THEN go public with the charges against him instead of giving him a head's up that he has until the end of the holiday until Interpol comes knocking at his door.
Maybe the attacks will lend him more credibility since it should be a warning sign to anyone that some jackass interim DM who thinks he can arrest and deport people for "defaming" him is not the sort of critter you want in public office.
A US contractor slain in Iraq last month under mysterious circumstances had three days earlier accused Iraqi Defence Ministry officials of corruption, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Add that to the Defense Minister's belief he can just arrest people because he doesn't like free speech and it looks to me like Chalabi's opponents are the ones that are the 'biggest lying [and murderous?] scum.'
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