|
American iraqi favorite leaks secrets to iran { November 9 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5404128,00.htmlhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5404128,00.html
Chalabi Tries to Rehabilitate His Image
Wednesday November 9, 2005 10:01 PM
AP Photo DCYG101
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi offered Wednesday to be questioned by the Senate on his role in prewar Iraq but refused to apologize for fueling allegations that Saddam Hussein had hidden caches of weapons of mass destruction.
Accorded a warm reception by the Bush administration, Chalabi lined up Vice President Dick Cheney and five Cabinet officers, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, for meetings this week and next.
Chalabi, whose reputation in Washington has soared, fallen and now revived, was welcomed by administration officials whom he briefed on Iraq's reconstruction efforts, particularly on energy and financial issues.
But on Capitol Hill, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., urged the Senate and House intelligence committees to subpoena Chalabi on allegations that he provided false information about Saddam's weapons and leaked U.S. secrets to Iran.
At a news conference, Chalabi denied giving Iran information that compromised U.S. security.
But he said he had offered last year to be questioned, and added, ``I am prepared to go the Senate and respond to questions.''
At the same time, Chalabi refused to apologize for advising the Bush administration that Saddam had arsenals of weapons of mass destruction.
``We are sorry for every American life that was lost in Iraq,'' he said. ``As for deliberately misleading, this is an urban myth.''
In a 45-minute speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Chalabi sketched a hopeful scenario for Iran's economy, including a vast surge in oil production and eradication of corruption.
However, he said rebuilding Iraq's security force was going slowly and U.S. and other troops should remain. He gave no timetable.
The Iraqi army, Chalabi said, had no more potent weapons than submachine guns while the country is surrounded by neighbors with large weapons arsenals.
Even while making senior administration officials available to Chalabi, the Bush administration appeared a bit self-conscious.
``It's not up to us to pick the leaders of Iraq,'' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said after announcing that Chalabi also would have access to Cheney and national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
For Rice, who met with him for about 30 minutes, it was an opportunity mostly to discuss energy and finance issues, which Chalabi oversees in Baghdad, said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli. He said the administration has an interest in meeting with a wide range of Iraqi officials, of which Chalabi is only one.
``It was a good meeting. They had a wide-ranging discussion,'' the spokesman said after the half-hour session in Rice's office.
Chalabi said the meeting went ``very well.'' He brushed aside reporters' questions regarding whether he had given the Bush administration misleading information before the war with Iraq.
``It's more important to look to the future than to the past,'' Chalabi said.
At the White House, spokesman McClellan said of Chalabi, ``He is seen as an elected leader of the Iraqi government and one of a number that we have met with in recent months.''
``The Iraqi people are deciding their future, and they have a representative government that was elected by the Iraqi people,'' McClellan said. ``We are very supportive of helping the Iraqi people move forward and build a democratic future.''
On Capitol Hill, Democrats greeted Chalabi's arrival by calling on Congress' Republican-run intelligence committees to subpoena him to testify about his role in providing prewar information about Iraq that turned out to be false, and allegations that he may be linked to the leaking of sensitive U.S. secrets to Iran.
In a letter to the intelligence panels, Sen. Durbin and Rep. Miller said that rather than meeting with top administration officials, testimony to those committees ``would be a more appropriate venue for an official meeting for Mr. Chalabi.''
---
On the Net:
State Department: http://www.state.gov
CIA Factbook on Iraq: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html
|
|
