CIA report slams Pentagon’s favorite Iraqi

If you are familiar with Chalabi, you are familiar with his books and his psuednym Samir al-Khalil. He wrote a book a number of years back called “Republic of Fear” that details Saddam’s rise to power and the methods he employs to keep himself in power.

Chalabi is a professor, an able administrator, and a brilliant scholar, which is probably why the Pentagon sees him as a favorite — not to mention why he is the head of the Iraqi National Congress. Unfortunately Central Intelligence doesn’t seem to agree, and is circulating a white paper to that effect:

“The CIA has been bad mouthing Chalabi and the INC for years. What is surprising is that they are still devoting resources to their character assassination effort instead of other more obvious missions,” said Randy Scheunemann, a long time adviser to Chalabi and now President of the Committee to Liberate Iraq, a lobbying group formed last year to support ending Saddam Hussein’s regime. “Whatever the stories the agency may be spreading it’s clear Centcom Commander Tommy Franks thinks the INC has an important role to play.”