Only the incompetence of the Coalition Provisional Authority could turn a joke like Ahmed Chalabi into the Moses of the Iraqi people. The raid of Mr. Chalabi's Baghdad residence today more than likely marks the end of the love affair between the Bush junta and the Iraqi exile on whose admittedly false testimony about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction last year's invasion was predicated. Once the Pentagon's heir apparent to the leadership of postwar Iraq, Chalabi has been more and more a thorn in the side of the CPA and the Iraqi Governing Council as he has been increasingly sidelined by both. Cut loose officially on Tuesday from his neocon supporters (and a monthly paycheck topping 300 G's) and presently a target of unspecified investigations, Chalabi has wasted no time in transforming himself from exile to native insurgent, demanding the transfer of nothing less than full sovereignty by June 30th:
"Let my people go. Let my people be free. It is time for the Iraqi people to run their affairs."
Expect him to become much more of a problem, now that he's playing for the other team. With enemies like Chalabi, who needs friends?
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