The Fox In The Iraqi Henhouse

As noted recently here, beyond the Axis of Evil so ably represented by George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, there is no better example of the manifold failures in the run up to and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq than Ahmed Chalabi.

Many of the intelligence failures prior to the invasion can be attributed to Chalabi, whom the White House and Rumsfeld and his neoconservative brain trust in particular fawned on as the nominal head of the Iraqi National Congress, which had been created after the first Gulf War to foment the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Chalabi, who was once dubbed "the George Washington of Iraq," in reality had no influence.

But now he has plenty. After an effort spearheaded by he and other pro-Iran hardliners to keep 15 pro-Sunni parties off the ballot in the parliamentary elections bombed, he is moving to have six winning candidates stripped of their votes and lose their seats, which would cost secular politician Ayad Allawi's bloc its narrow upset victory of Prime Minister Al Maliki.