Chalabi Withdraws Bid to Be Next Iraqi PM

AP ^ | Tue, Feb 22, 2005 | AP

[Eurotwit]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Interim Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen Tuesday to be his Shiite ticket's candidate for prime minister after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid, senior alliance officials said.

Pressure from within the ranks of the winning United Iraqi Alliance forced the withdrawal of Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon (news - web sites) favorite, said Hussein al-Moussai from the Shiite Political Council, an umbrella group for 38 Shiite parties.

"They wanted him to withdraw. They didn't want to push the vote to a secret ballot," al-Moussawi said.

The 140 members were to put the decision between Chalabi and al-Jaafari to a secret ballot by Tuesday's end.

The decision came after three days of round-the-clock negotiations by senior members of the United Iraqi Alliance, which emerged from the Jan. 30 elections with a 140-seat majority in the 275-member parliament, or National Assembly.

The office of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (news - web sites), confirmed that Chalabi had withdrawn his bid to be prime minister.

[Eurotwit]

So I guess it is between Allawi and al-Jaffar now then.

[Quilla]

Excellent news for Iraqis - Chalabi is tainted.

[Eurotwit]

ping

[jmc1969]

Allawi and Jaafari are good friends, they are both doctors and they met yesterday to lock out Chelebi. They might come up with a power sharing arrangement that both would be happy with.

---

Adding to the intrigue, al-Jaafari made a highly publicized visit to Allawi on Monday, posing with him for photographs, calling him "brother doctor Ayad" and pledging to work with him in the future.

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/world/10957235.htm

[piasa]

I wouldn't think it a good thing if every candidate 'tainted' by the UN, by some country heavily on the Oil for Food dole, and by assorted badly biased media like CNN, CBS were to withdraw. If that happened we wouln't have anyone but Democrats running the show here. So why is it a 'good' thing in Iraq?

[Eurotwit]

I see that in an updated version of the story it is suggested that the Shia alliance already has a deal with the Kurds. I guess that means Al-Jaffari looks like the next PM, and Talebani as the next President.

Cheers.

[Quilla]

'Rock Solid' Evidence Chalabi Spied for Iran

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. officials believe they have "rock solid" evidence that Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi (search), once a darling of the American government, passed secrets to Iran, Fox News has learned.

"There is no need for an investigation because we're quite certain he did it," one senior Bush administration official said.

The official first described the evidence against Chalabi as "pretty solid" and then characterized it as "rock solid."

U.S. officials won't describe the information Chalabi's alleged to have passed to Iran or how he's supposed to have obtained it, but they said he does not have the clearance to possess American classified information.

[harrowup]

So why is it a 'good' thing in Iraq?

Because he is a lying little weasel.

Chalabi wasn't 'tainted' by the UN. He was exposed as a huffer puffer who pretended to have information he did not have and sources he did not have...just to keep his arse out of the pokey because, I forgot to mention, he is a crook...just the kind of fella the Rump knows so very well.

[Piranha]

There is no need for an investigation because we're quite certain he did it," one senior Bush administration official said. The official first described the evidence against Chalabi as "pretty solid" and then characterized it as "rock solid."

At a time when two of the foreign policy instruments of the US Government -- the State Department and the CIA -- are so politicized, a comment like this from an anonymous poster is less than useful.

I suspect that if this were a comment from a member of the administration who felt confident that he was on the side of President Bush and not the internationalists, he or she would have used his or her name. As it is, the comment is suspect because, I suspect, it imputes what may be a minority viewpoint to the entire administration.

[jmc1969]

Jordan Says Conviction Against Chalabi Stands

AMMAN, 24 May 2004 — Jordan insists that the conviction by a court here of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi for fraud and embezzling millions of dollars still stands, a report said.

Government spokesman Asma Khodr told the Al-Dustour daily “our position is constant — Mr. Chalabi must appear before Jordanian justice for breach of trust”.

The apparent fall from Washington’s grace of Ahmed Chalabi, convicted in absentia by a court here for fraud and embezzling millions of dollars, has clearly triggered satisfaction in Jordan.

In 1992, a Jordanian court sentenced Chalabi to 22 years in prison for fraud and embezzling $288 million from Petra Bank, which he founded and ran until its collapse in 1989, and moving the funds into Swiss accounts. The bank’s collapse was a major blow to Jordan’s government, which had to bail out depositors to the tune of more than $400 million.

http://tinyurl.com/4sfpr

[piasa]

Oh really? Someone forgot to tell General Meyers:

The Chalabi Fiasco - He's a Pawn in a Much Larger Strategic Game

Meanwhile, Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers told Congress last week that Mr. Chalabi's political group, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), "has provided intelligence to our intelligence unit there in Baghdad that has saved soldiers' lives."

That's not just General Myers's opinion. Back in March, the Pentagon requested feedback on the effectiveness of cooperation from five Iraq political organizations. The written report from the chief intelligence officer of one front-line U.S. division declared that the INC "proved to be head and shoulders above the information provided by the other four organizations."

According to this report--which is classified but was made available to us--the INC has provided "imminent threat warning" and "reconnaissance surveillance capability that U.S. forces cannot match in an urban environment." For example, Saddam Hussein was captured last December with documents containing eight names. The INC was directly responsible for the capture of four on that list, and thanks to its lead a fifth was captured within a month.

The intelligence assessment calls the INC a "true force multiplier" and says that the U.S. division's "ability to accomplish our mission would have been significantly hampered" without its support. "In the final analysis, the INC has been directly responsible for saving the lives of numerous soldiers as a result of early warning and providing surveillance of known enemy elements," the report says.

[piasa]

That story turned out to be bogus.

[TexKat]

Iraq's main Shi'ite alliance named Ibrahim Jaafari February 22, 2005 as its candidate for the job of prime minister in the new government. A December 7, 2004 file picture shows Ibrahim Jaafari talking to reporter at a news conference in Damascus. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

Shiites Pick Al-Jaafari As Iraq PM Nominee

By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Interim Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen as his Shiite ticket's candidate for prime minister Tuesday after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid, senior alliance officials said.

Al-Jaafari's selection means he likely will lead Iraq's first democratically elected government in 50 years. But first he has to be approved by a coalition that likely will include the Kurds, and then he must be approved by a majority of the newly elected National Assembly.

Pressure from within the ranks of the United Iraqi Alliance, which won Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 election, forced the withdrawal of Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite, said Hussein al-Moussawi from the Shiite Political Council, an umbrella group for 38 Shiite parties.

"They wanted him to withdraw. They didn't want to push the vote to a secret ballot," al-Moussawi said.

The 140 members were to put the decision between Chalabi and al-Jaafari to a secret ballot by Tuesday's end.

The decision came after three days of round-the-clock negotiations by senior members of the clergy-backed alliance, which emerged from the election with a 140-seat majority in the 275-member National Assembly, or parliament.

The office of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, confirmed that Chalabi had withdrawn his bid to be prime minister.

"Chalabi announced his withdrawal and everyone agreed on al-Jaafari. Then Chalabi declared his support to al-Jaafari," said Haytham al Husaini, a top al-Hakim aide.

SCIRI, the main group making up the alliance, tried for days to persuade Chalabi to quit the race, some of its senior officials said.

Al-Jaafari's only other likely opponent for the post would be interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who was nominated for the job by his group. The Iraqi List got only 14 percent of the vote — or 40 seats — in the election.

The United Iraqi Alliance took 48 percent of the vote last month but needs to form a coalition with smaller parties to form the new government.

Kurdish parties, who won 26 percent, have indicated in the past they would support the Shiite candidate for prime minister in return for support for their candidate for the presidency.

The assembly must approve candidates for the presidency and two vice presidencies by a two-thirds majority. The president and vice presidents, in turn, will nominate a prime minister, who must be approved by a simple majority of the assembly.

The assembly also will draft a constitution.

A date for the parliament's opening has not been set.

The conservative Al-Jaafari, a 58-year-old family doctor, is the main spokesman for the Islamic Dawa Party, which waged a bloody campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime in the late 1970s. Saddam crushed the campaign in 1982 and Dawa based itself in Iran.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, he said the most pressing issues for the nation were improving security and improving the standards of its social services. He also said calling for the immediate withdrawal of coalition troops would be a "mistake" given the lack of security in Iraq.

The secular Chalabi is a former exile leader who heavily promoted the idea that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. He later fell out with some key members of the Bush administration over allegations that he passed secrets to Iran.

[Allegra]

So why is it a 'good' thing in Iraq?

Anything is an improvement over how Iraq has been governed (if you can call it that) over the past half-century.

It's a little early to start comparing Iraqi leaders to our Democrats.

Remember, this is all very, very new to them. Give it time to shake out and see what happens.

[TexKat]

Whats Chalabi gone do now?

Sweep out the caboose, LMAO.

The freaking weasel faced Opportunist.

[TexKat]

So why is it a 'good' thing in Iraq?

Chalabi has been bad news since the fall of Saddam and even before, we just were not aware of it.

Since the fall of Saddam there has been one thing after another with the Chalabi crew.

Where theres smoke, theres what?

[Publius Scipio]

Chalabi isn't simply "tainted". He is a scumbag's scumbag.

That we ever had anything do to do with this jagoff is extremely disturbing.

[spokeshave]

Chalabi isn't simply "tainted". He is a scumbag's scumbag

Chalabi reminds me of Chiraq....weasels all

[TexKat]

Shi’ite bloc chooses al-Jafari for Iraqi PM

ISN SECURITY WATCH (22/02/05) - Interim Iraqi vice-president and Dawa party leader Ibrahim al-Jafari was chosen Tuesday as the United Iraqi Alliance’s candidate for prime minister after one-time Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi had withdrawn his bid for the post, news agencies reported on Tuesday, citing senior alliance officials. The alliance’s senior members were scheduled to hold a secret vote on the two candidates later on Tuesday, but Chalabi was pressured to withdraw before the vote, party officials said.

The United Iraqi Alliance - supported by top Shi’ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali al-Sistani - won 140 seats (or 48 per cent) in Iraq’s new 275-seat national assembly in 30 January elections. The Kurdish Alliance came in second with around 26 per cent of the votes, followed by interim prime minister Iyad Allawi’s Iraqi List, with over 13 per cent. Al-Jafari, a 58-year-old doctor, is described as a moderate Shi’ite politician. He told news agencies earlier this month that if he were elected prime minister, he would end the violence in the country and ask US occupation forces to remain in Iraq as long as necessary. He said the Iraqi constitution should be based primarily on Islam, but that “other sources” should also play a role unless they harmed Muslim sensibilities. He said he supported women's rights, self-determination, and individual freedoms for all Iraqis. Al-Jafari served on the US-appointed Governing Council and became vice-president of the interim government that replaced it. He was born in Kerbala and attended medical school at Mosul University. He fled Iraq for London in 1980 when Saddam cracked down on Dawa leaders.

His erstwhile rival Chalabi was once a key US ally in Iraq, but has fallen out of favor with Washington and allied himself with rebel Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr at the height of the insurgency.

The new National Assembly will elect a three-member presidency council, which must have the backing of two-thirds of the legislature. Once approved, the council will have two weeks to elect a prime minister and a cabinet, which must be approved unanimously. The National Assembly will then hold a vote of confidence in the new prime minister and cabinet, which requires simple majority approval. The new National Assembly must draft a constitution by 15 August, and the Iraqi people will vote on the constitution in a referendum by 15 October. If the constitution is passed, general elections will be held by 15 December, with a new government in office before the end of the year.