Why no criminal investigation of Chalabi? Condi Rice promised 17 mo. ago

[Wordie]

Instead, she is giving him a diplomatic meeting and greeting this week. This man is a criminal, who lied to the U.S. but now AEI is also hosting him. This is outrageous!

From talkingpoints memo:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
<snip>

More slow-lane investigations?

This from the Wall Street Journal ...

As Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi arrives this week in Washington for talks, there is little sign of progress in a federal investigation of allegations that he once leaked U.S. intelligence secrets to Iran.

More than 17 months after then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice publicly promised a full criminal inquiry, the Federal Bureau of Investigation hasn't interviewed Mr. Chalabi himself or many current and former U.S. government officials thought likely to have information related to the matter, according to lawyers for several of these individuals and others close to the case.

The investigation of Mr. Chalabi, who had been a confidant of senior Defense Department officials before the war in Iraq, remains in the hands of the FBI, with little active interest from local federal prosecutors or the Justice Department, these people said. There also has been no grand-jury involvement in the case.

It's been suggested that the accusations that Chalabi leaked US secrets to the Iranians were no more than a bureaucratic power-play against him by his opponents in the US government. The fact that he and his supporters have used this excuse to explain various other bad acts of which he was certainly guilty does not inspire a lot of confidence. But on this issue of his ties with Iran I don't know much more than what I read in the papers. So anything is possible.

But even that wouldn't seem a good reason to have yet another phantom FBI investigation in which no attempt has been made to speak to principals in the case.
-- Josh Marshall

[Bob3]

1. Because Condi, like her boss, is a lair

if she said it was raining I'd call in the dog to see if it was wet.

[Wordie]

3. Oh, I agree! But why is there not much outcry? WSJ story, anyone?

Josh Marshall links to a WSJ story, but I can't seem to get there.
Here it is: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113132700203089698.html?mod=politics_primary_hs

I get some screen that says there is a special one week free WSJ offer, but then there appears to be some sort of circular thing going on. Is there anyone at DU who can get into it?

[Bob3]

8. I don't know - maybe we're getting some kind of scandal overload

our outrage has been blunted by the fact that there are so many things to get outraged about it's hard to keep track.

[Wordie]

9. You may be right. Has anyone tallied the people under investigation, or

who have been forced to resign, or who have been indicted, or jailed, etc., all associated with the Bush administration? Or would it simply be too time-consuming for one person to undertake all on their own? LOL

That said, since it seems to me that Chalabi's goal was to dishonestly involve the U.S. in using our resources in order to make a present to him of Iraq, he really ought to be getting more attention. (And I might add, it appears that he was pretty much successful in his pursuit of that goal.)

[newscott]

2. They used to hang spies, didn't they?

[Sandpiper]

4. Because it was a Good Cop, Bad Cop charade

Chalabi has been our boy from day 1.

Bushco had to do something publicly to make the Iraqi people think that he wasn't.

[Wordie]

6. But surely all the bad intel that he fed our gov't upsets SOMEBODY...

besides a few of us at DU, that is.

I keep hoping that people will demonstrate against him (lots of BIG signs, attention from msm) at his AEI speech. Does anyone know if there are any anti-war groups that plan to protest? I guess the difficult, thorny thing is that he has now been elected in Iraq. In the hope that someone else sees that this guy is a criminal, here is the info on the speech:
http://www.aei.org/events/type.upcoming,eventID.1192,filter.all/event_detail.asp

An Insider's View: Democratic Politics at Work in Iraq

A Foreign Policy Briefing from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi
Start: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 2:30 PM
End: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 3:45 PM
Location: Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036
Directions to AEI

Registration for this event is now closed due to an overwhleming response. Members of the media may contact Andrew Pappas at 202.862.4870 or [e-mail]. Walk-in registrations may not be accepted.

In the last year, Iraqis successfully elected a transitional government and overwhelmingly approved a new constitution. Despite continuing security challenges and a deepening sectarian divide, Iraqis are moving toward a functioning democracy. And while sectors of Iraq continue to lag, there is an untold story of economic reform.

Will the constitution provide the foundation for a democratic system that can be a model for the Middle East? What can be expected of the upcoming December parliamentary elections? Is Iraq moving beyond sectarian politics, or does the federalism model in the new constitution deepen the divide?

To address these and other issues, AEI welcomes Ahmad Chalabi, deputy prime minister of Iraq, to deliver his first public speech in the United States in more than two and a half years.

More Information
Rachel Hoff
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Media Inquiries
Veronique Rodman
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

[Botany]

5. Maybe that don't want to upset Laura

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Because Bush needs every one of his buddies.

[Disturbed]

10. "Chalabi holds the ultimate weapons."

Commentary: Chalabi's road to victory
By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
UPI Editor at Large
WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- With only three months to go before L. Paul Bremer trades in his Iraqi pro-consul baton for beachwear and a hard-earned vacation, the country's most controversial politician is already well positioned to become prime minister.
Ahmad Chalabi, the Pentagon's heartthrob and the State Department's and CIA's heartbreak, has taken the lead in a yearlong political marathon. Temporary constitutional arrangements are structured to give the future prime minister more power than the president. The role of the president will be limited because his decisions will have to be ratified by two deputy presidents, or vice presidents. Key ministries, such as Defense and Interior, will be taking orders from the prime minister.

Chalabi holds the ultimate weapons -- several dozen tons of documents and individual files seized by his Iraqi National Congress from Saddam Hussein's secret security apparatus. Coupled with his position as head of the de-Baathification commission, Chalabi, barely a year since he returned to his homeland after 45 years of exile, has emerged as the power behind a vacant throne. He also appears to have impressive amounts of cash at his disposal and a say in which companies get the nod for some of the $18.4 billion earmarked for reconstruction. One company executive who asked that both his and the company's name be withheld said, "The commission was steep even by Middle Eastern standards."

More here:

http://www.upi.com/inc/view.php?StoryID=20040329-094918-2616r

[Wordie]

12. Hmmm...Look no further for those missing billions in Iraq? (I don't know

this...only speculating.)

I have thought about this some more and it may be that everyone (well, mostly everyone) is keeping their hands off Chalabi's visit because he is now an elected official of Iraq and it would be bad form to criticise him? It's the only thing I can think of. When I heard that he was speaking to AEI, I really thought there would be an explosion of outrage. Some of us get it, but apparently not quite as many as I thought!

What would be the reaction to a demonstration, anyway? It would surely embarrass the Bush admin. It would let people overseas know that not all of us are as dumb as it appears lately (this is presuming it would get airtime). It would draw the attention of the American people back to the issue of Treason-gate. Not bad, I say.

Does ANYONE know if there is a demonstration planned against Chalabi's visit?

[cassiepriam]

11. She "forgot"... a lot of that going around the WH these days.