Iraq Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Duplicity and Deceit before America’s Iraq Invasion Ahmad Chalabi has arrived in Washington.
He is going to speak at the American Enterprise Institute at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow.
The event is so full that several of my New America Foundation colleagues have been uninvited. That’s right — uninvited even though they made reservations before the event closed. The reason is allegedly over-crowding and we’ll hope that is the case. They state that there are others from New America attending, but I can’t find any — and I’m going to be in Prague regrettably.
I am racing to post a number of Chalabi’s crimes on the blog tonight — but they may be here first thing in the morning, so keep checking in. Lots of other bloggers are getting into this as well. Check David Corn and Arianna Huffington who have important rosters of Chalabi’s misdeeds.
This man must be held accountable for his role in America’s mystique-destroying venture into Iraq.
Chalabi is back in Washington attempting to rehabilitate himself and position his candidacy for the Iraq premiership. He doesn’t deserve anything but disdain and contempt until he engages in an honest accounting of his role in hyping intelligence about Iraq nuclear WMD programs, comes clean about his ongoing connections to senior Iran authorities (this alone should drive Michael Ledeen at AEI crazy — but one wonders why not), and should divulge all he knows about the intelligence leaks to Iran and Israel in which he played a role, along with Larry Franklin who has been charged. He has also hovered close to former Under Secretay of Defense Douglas Feith, who helped create Chalabi’s machine — as well as former CIA Director James Woolsey who was the first on 9/11 to allege the direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda on national TV without disclosing for television viewers the fact that Woolsey was the LAWYER for Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress.
Chalabi is a nefarious player in the Iraq WMD intel mess in which the White House is now mired.
There are a great number of organizations — bloggers in the middle of the road, center left, and left — who are not able to get into the AEI meeting. But they are going to meet Ahmed Chalabi and share their views with him about his role in America’s screwed up foreign policy.
While the Citizen’s Arrest Law in D.C. seems to require the actual real-time witnessing of a felony, I’m not so sure that Chalabi’s violations of American law in the past don’t already constitute grounds for Citizen’s Arrest. Others may have more to say on this.
Watch for his burly and probably armed body guards — but American citizens have my support issuing a citizen’s arrest against Ahmad Chalabi.
Here is one link on Citizen’s Arrest Law:
In the most crime ridden spot in the country, our nation’s capitol, District of Columbia Law 23 — 582(b) reads as follows:
(b) A private person may arrest another —
(1) who he has probable cause to believe is committing in his presence —
(A) a felony, or
(B) an offense enumerated in section 23-581 (a)(2); or(2) in aid of a law enforcement officer or special policeman, or other person authorized by law to make an arrest.
(c) Any person making an arrest pursuant to this section shall deliver the person arrested to a law enforcement officer without unreasonable delay. (July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 630, Pub. L. 91-358, Title II, S 210(a); 1973 Ed., S 23-582; Apr. 30, 1988, D.C. Law 7-104, S 7(e), 35 DCR 147.)
So, do what your conscience tells you to do — at 2 p.m. (show up earlier if you can) — at 17th and M Streets NW — 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
I have already been notified by CNN, AFP, Reuters, AP, and others that they are as interested in the protests about Chalabi’s presence as they are about Chalabi’s speech tomorrow inside AEI.
I also think that we have some good folks inside AEI to pose some legitimate questions — constructively — about Chalabi’s role in our current Iraq mess.
More later. I’m not done with Chalabi.
For the record, I do support AEI’s right to invite Chalabi to speak and to subject him to public questioning about his past behavior and views. I also support the right of the public to share their views and to engage this major player in the Iraq War on city streets and at AEI’s meeting.
Share your views with Chalabi. Make him respond. And give him my personal greetings when he steps on to the sidewalk at 2 p.m.
Gotta run.
— Steve Clemons
