The Chalabi spin continues

The WaPo did a bit of a puffpiece on Chalabi's visit to Condi Rice and other US administration officials. Despite admissions in the article that Chalabi has no political base and that the majority of Iraqis find him untrustworthy, the WaPo prints an article that can only be described as advocating for this conman.

In the fourth paragraph the "remaking" begins.

"Think of him as a former football player -- that was all then. That's what he did in his other life," said a senior Bush administration official who has dealt with Chalabi. He spoke on condition of anonymity because Chalabi remains a divisive figure within the administration.

Then, a little further down, there are a couple of quotes from Francis Brooke.

"We have been quite open about his desire to be prime minister. For some parties that may have been an insoluble demand," said Francis Brooke, a senior Chalabi aide who also was targeted in the espionage investigation last year. "We think this is our time."

Francis Brooke was the INC and Chalabi's front man in Washington in the years before the Iraq war. He was Chalabi's political PR guy who got him meetings and speaking gigs.

"Chalabi is one among three who at this point are front-runners to assume higher position after the Dec. 15 elections," said a second senior State Department official, who also mentioned Allawi and the Supreme Council's Adel Abdel-Mehdi, who will also visit the United States this month. "No one has forgotten the past. But this is a very important election, and [Chalabi] is a good and resourceful politician."

Brooke contends that Iraq's current prime minister, Ibrahim Jafari, has faltered over the past year and that Allawi, his predecessor, was too tainted by charges of corruption.

There's also a dropped/passing mention in the article that the prospect of Chalbi being Prime Minister of Iraq is gaining more credibility in Washinton(thanks to Brooke and several unnamed administration officials) than it is the reality in Iraq.

Yet U.S. officials note that all reliable opinion polls show Chalabi with an almost negligible political base.

So, the question is, how is all this spin that Chalabi might be prime minister by Brooke and a couple of other Chalabi "sympathizers" in the administration working it's way into a huge flattering WAPO piece which minimizes his bank fraud and leaking of critical US intel information to Iran? Simple, the Chalabi team invited the WaPo reporter over for a lavish dinner to butter them up.

After dinner, in a brief poolside interview with reporters, Chalabi was reflective and coy when asked about his ambitions.

I expect so much better. I sure hope the shrimp were good.