chalabipraying.jpg
"Dammit, how long do I have to keep pretending to pray?"

From the Associated Press today:

Dignitaries gathered last month for a gesture of reconciliation — reopening a Sunni mosque in Shiite Sadr City. As the cameras panned the robes and turbans, there stood Ahmad Chalabi, elegantly attired in an expensive Western suit.

The ceremony was largely symbolic. Most of Sadr City's few Sunnis had fled Shiite militiamen. But the coverage gave Chalabi a chance to promote an image of a healer.

. . . In his new post as head of a committee to build public support for the U.S.-Iraqi security operation, Chalabi reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. There's already talk of a Cabinet position later.

That would put Chalabi, a Westernized secular Shiite who spent much of his life abroad, back in the halls of power and reinforce his image as Iraq's ultimate political survivor.

"There is a firm belief that he is capable of running a ministry, whether it is linked to services or security," a top adviser to al-Maliki said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss Cabinet plans.

I wouldn't take that Cabinet talk too seriously, since it's coming from people who chose not to give Chalabi any post at all in the government until now.  As the article goes on to point out, such smoke-blowing seems to accompany Ahmad rather frequently:

. . . [Before] the December 2005 election . . . Chalabi traveled to Washington, where some commentators speculated he could end up as Iraq's prime minister.

Instead, Chalabi's faction failed to win a single seat.

But his new job offers at least a shot at a return to power in a political system where unpredictability is the only certainty.

That last line is the reason this news story is worth mentioning.  Along with the fact that the U.S. seems to be playing a behind-the-scenes role in nudging Chalabi back towards the spotlight.  The Bushites never seem to learn any lessons from their mistakes, do they?