chalabi

this article, at least, says he's still a "player" in iraqi politics and may end up with some real power after the election results are released. the odd thing is how this should be possible considering that he has both fallen out of favor with the americans and is widely dispised by the iraqi people.

"Paradoxically, the absence of an internal constituency is turning into one of his strongest assets," the official said. "He is not a personal threat to Sistani and the others. They keep in the back of their minds that he is politically useful, a skillful political manipulator. But because he has no base of support, when he outlives his usefulness, he can be taken out. He is a temporary asset to be used to consolidate a political vantage point."

so despite a conviction in jordan for embezzelment, his history of feeding the bush administration and the press false information about saddam hussein to help the administration build the case for war, the accusations that his security forces engaged in a crime spree of carjackings and looting in the immediate aftermath of the u.s. invasion, his reputation for being utterly corrupt, and evidence that he passed on information he gained when he was a trusted partner of the americans to the iranian government, chalabi may land on his feet after all--helped by the very fact that no one likes him.