Did We Get Sucked Into Iraq By Iran?

[theknife]

that darling of the neocons Ahmad Chalabi, has had a quite a fall from grace, no? Chalabi is the Iraqi expatriate and founder of the Iraqi National Congress who provided much prewar "intelligence " to the US with regards to WMD's and the Saddam "threat". he was getting millions from the US and was considered to be a good candidate to head the new Iraq, as well as being Cheney and Wolfowitzs' pet - but who was leading who around on a leash?

Patrick Lang, former director of the DIA's Middle East branch, said he had been told by colleagues that Chalabi's U.S.-funded program to provide information about weapons of mass destruction and insurgents was effectively an Iranian intelligence operation. "They (the Iranians) knew exactly what we were up to," he said.

hmmm, isn't this interesting?

"Iranian intelligence has been manipulating the United States through Chalabi by furnishing through his Information Collection Program (ICP) information to provoke the United Sates into getting rid of Saddam Hussein," said an intelligence source who was briefed on the conclusions of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

so, apparently we finally got wise to this and raided his house the other day in Bagdhad...we're also cutting off his $340,000 per month allowance.

At the center of the alleged Iranian intelligence operation, according to administration officials and intelligence sources, is Aras Habib, 47, a Shiite Kurd who was named in an arrest warrant issued during a raid on Chalabi's home and offices in Baghdad on Thursday. He eluded arrest.

so, not only was our prewar intelligence bad - it was actually disinformation from another government. in other words, we got owned

An intelligence official said Habib also was the INC official who handled most of the Iraqi defectors, including one code-named "Curveball," who provided much of the fabricated, exaggerated and unconfirmed information about Iraqi weapons programs and links to terrorism that President Bush used in making his case for invading Iraq.

Curveball was the basis of Powell's dramatic testimony before the UN, when he laid out the US "case" for invading Iraq. wonder how he feels right about now?

Chalabi and Iran apparently played us like a fiddle, if this report is accurate. the ironic thing is that by being on the US shit list, Chalabi now appears to the Iraqis as someone who stood up to the US - he gets to play both sides of the street.

seems the Bushies wanted to go into Iraq so bad, they never questioned the source of the info they were getting. yet another intelligence coup for the administration

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...chalabi22.html