The Rise and Fall of Ahmad Chalabi

Today U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police raided the offices of the Iraqi National Congress and the home of INC leader Ahmad Chalabi, who was once the Pentagon favorite to govern postwar Iraq. In a March 2004 “War Stories,” Fred Kaplan scrutinized Chalabi’s selfish ambitions, while Chris Suellentrop’s April 2003 “Assessment” wondered if Chalabi would make a suitable leader of Iraq. Also in 2003, Christopher Hitchens offered a more full-throated defense of Chalabi in this “Fighting Words.”