Chalabi: “I am convinced [there was] an implicit agreement between America and Iran”

Whoops. That little investment in fraudster and Iranian ally Ahmed Chalabi keeps looking like a worse and worse idea, huh, Bush? (h/t Tom Ricks)

[Al-Hayat]: What would you tell George Bush if you met him, in a party for example?

[Chalabi]: I would say: thank you for toppling Saddam but I am displeased with what you did afterwards.

[Al-Hayat]: Do you believe that it is possible for a superpower to commit such terrible mistakes?

[Chalabi]: Yes, very possible.

[Al-Hayat]: If you want to describe George Bush, then how would you describe him?

[Chalabi]: A man with very little skill and knowledge.

[Al-Hayat]: He did Iran a great service by toppling Saddam?

[Chalabi]: Iran benefited from toppling Saddam. Bush didn’t mean to do it a favor but it was clear that Iran would benefit from Saddam’s fall. I am convinced that Saddam would not have fallen except for an implicit agreement between America and Iran.

But my favorite part is where Ahmed Chalabi takes credit for getting George Tenet fired.

[Chalabi]: I accused the director of the CIA George Tenet and I said that he was behind the [May 2004 raid on Chalabi’s compound] despite the fact that I received a letter through one of my friends that stressed that I shouldn’t attack the CIA. When Tenet was ousted 10 days later, Hillary Clinton, a senator at the time, said that Ahmad Chalabi was behind Tenet’s dismissal. When I was asked about this, I answered: I am in Al-Najaf, how could I oust him?

Not that I disbelieve Chalabi had a part (though remember that Chalabi ally Dick Cheney had other reasons to want to take Tenet out in the days after he got questioned in the Plame leak).  I’m just amused that the notion that Chalabi could get the Director of CIA fired is plausible enough for this consummate fraudster to claim.

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10 replies
  1. MadDog says:

    Next we’ll hear from Chalabi how instrumental he was in getting Obama elected President.

    It boogles the mind just how stupifyingly dumb as pet rocks this confirms folks like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Kristol, Gaffney, Woolsey and the rest of the Neocons were/are.

    If Ponzi lived today, he’d not be Bernie Madoff with his rinky-dink $50 Billion scheme.

    He’d be Chalabi with his $$$ Mucho Trillions in control over Iraqi Oil.

    And he do just what Chalabi has done. He’d con everybody in power and then he’d grift his own grifting crew (Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Kristol, Gaffney, Woolsey et al.) and take them to the cleaners too!

    It’s no longer the “Ugly American”, but instead the “Fool American”.

    • readerOfTeaLeaves says:

      Well… bitter consolation but McClellan’s a guest on KO tonight — talking about the meeting of the old WHIG veterans who are trying to do some major revamp of the Big Bush II Management Failure. KO asks about Cheney, and McClellan comments something like, “Well, it is notable that [Cheney’s] not meeting with them, but I don’t suppose he’s visiting Spain at this time, either.”

      Shall we leave it to Chalabi to send GW Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney some lovely travel brochures of Spain? Perhaps Chalabi will include a little post-it to highlight a special Inquisition Tour , as it seems that topic might be of particular interest to them.

      Chalabi’s quite the ‘entrepreneur’.
      Here’s hoping he didn’t make too many contracts with the London office of AIGFP…

      • MadDog says:

        Shall we leave it to Chalabi to send GW Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney some lovely travel brochures of Spain?

        LOL!

        Dear George and Dick,

        Visit lovely Spain for the experience of your life.

        Only $19.95. Please send your Visa account information to my email address and I’ll be sure to book you into Spain’s hottest accommodations!

        Your BFF,

        Ahmed

      • Rayne says:

        Shall we leave it to Chalabi to send GW Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney some lovely travel brochures of Spain? Perhaps Chalabi will include a little post-it to highlight a special Inquisition Tour , as it seems that topic might be of particular interest to them.

        Bwa-hahahahahah!! Why didn’t we think of that ourselves? No need to leave it to the incompetent Chalabi, why not torment entice the war criminal former Fourth Branch with a daily envelope filled with brochures to key tourist attractions, like the Alcazar in Cordoba, Spain, the former headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition…or the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, although now a great meeting place to watch people, a former location of the Spanish Inquisition.

        Could be great fun for the old goat to receive surprise “fan mail” like this; nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, after all.

  2. susiedow says:

    fwiw…in his biography, “See No Evil,” Robert Baer wastes no time in pointing out that Ahmed Chalabi was responsible for ending his career at the CIA. Chalabi passed a forged document that effecively killed Baer’s overseas assignment in the Middle East and by extention, his career.

    The book was released in January 2002 – Tenet resigned two years later, in 2004.

    • NCDem says:

      In “See No Evil” on page 6-7, Baer describes his interview with two FBI agents and describes how Chalabi had forged (his usual MO) a document that implicated Baer in an assassination plot against Hussein. The real kicker was that the Bush DOJ was using Article 18 rather than EO 12333 to prosecute Baer. Article 18 dealt with “federal murder-for-hire statutes”. The penalty for these violations includes life in prison or the death sentence.

      Yes, I think Baer blames Chalabi! The real question here is in another realm altogether. Based upon the recent Hirsch article on Cheney’s assassination tendencies and Cheney’s deep involvement with Chalabi over the years, you may also question if Cheney was not involved in an effort to remove Hussein by force and Baer was just a pawn in the game.

      • susiedow says:

        I wouldn’t be at all surprised. It seems pretty clear – at least, based on what we know from news reports – that Cheney saw the CIA as in his way – so why not bypass the CIA and use his own loyal “resources.” Assuming Chalabi’s statement on Tenet is true – was Chalabi serving Chalabi or Cheney? They’re such a creepy self-serving bunch…

  3. freepatriot says:

    Iran benefited from toppling Saddam. Bush didn’t mean to do it a favor but it was clear that Iran would benefit from Saddam’s fall.

    Chalabi was collecting a fookin consulting fee for arranging presnit bunnypants little misadventure in Mesopotamian, now he wants to say Iran benifited ???

    YEAH ya fucking mook, that’s why Iran was paying you

    how stupid do you think people are ???

  4. Leen says:

    Mistakes?

    Cheney energy task force meetings, invade Iraq based on a “pack of lies”, send in too few troops, allow looting while protecting the oil industry, get rid of Garner, in comes Bremer, disband the Iraqi army, torture, blow up a few mosque etc etc.

    Mistakes? I don’t think so

Comments are closed.