Global Policy Forum

One of the men who could be Iraq's next leader, Ahmad Chalabi, has the strong US backing that could leave him well placed for political power but remains a controversial figure for many Iraqis. The leader of the Iraqi National Congress (NC) has recently let fly with a series of grave accusations against neighbouring Jordan, where he was convicted in absentia more than a decade ago for fraud and embezzlement. Despite holding a seat on the US-anointed council which is preparing a national congress to select a new Iraqi government, he remains an unknown quantity for many after only recently returning after 45 years of exile. "Many dislike him," said an official from the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), the Pentagon-run entity which is overseeing the rebuilding of post-war Iraq.

"But at the same time, they cannot come up with any other name," said the official, who asked not to be identified. Chalabi has long occupied pride of place among the former opponents of Saddam Hussein preparing a new Iraq, and his INC umbrella group has won strong support from the United States. The INC's militia, the Free Iraqi Forces (FIF), was established in the run-up to the war by the Pentagon and includes volunteers from around the world. But the INC has been keen to allay the image of being a tool in the hands of the Pentagon, and describes its relations with the United States as an alliance that has its own occasional problems.

"The United States is our ally and as an ally sometimes we have differences and sometimes we have agreements. In fact we can describe ourselves as difficult allies sometimes," said INC spokesman Entifadh Qanbar. The group has undertaken a campaign to clear Chalabi's past in Jordan, where he was sentenced to 22 years hard labour in 1992 after being tried in absentia over the disappearance of 60 million dollars from the Petra Bank, which he set up in 1977 and which crashed in 1989. The group blames a conspiracy between the Jordanian royal family and the ousted Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

On Tuesday, the INC accused Jordan of channelling 450 million dollars to Saddam's intelligence services before the US-led war began on March 20. A Chalabi advisor, Zaab Sethna, charged that the money went through the Jordan National Bank, owned by the family of Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher. Meanwhile US magazine Newsweek this month published an interview with Chalabi in which he claimed to have taken possession of 25 tons of documents from Saddam's secret police. "It's a huge thing. Some of the files are very damning," Chalabi, told Newsweek in an interview, implying that some of the most incriminating material concerned Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The monarch, who has ruled Jordan since 1999, "is worried about his relationship with Saddam. He's worried about what might come out," Chalabi told Newsweek, although he failed to provide further details. One of the main disputes between his INC and the United States is the role of former members of Saddam's Baath party in the new, post-war Iraq. The INC has openly criticised the US appointment of Baath members at some relaunched government ministries, a move being undertaken by the coalition to speed up the rebuilding process. "The formal policy of the United States of America is de-Baathification of Iraq. That some Baathists returned to high position is not acceptable," said Qanbar. One Iraqi commentator said the INC effort to distance itself from the United States was also intended to keep the group from having to shoulder any of the blame aimed at the US coalition over the chaos that has reigned in post-war Iraq. "The population blames the lack of security, electricity, cooking gas and gasoline on the Americans," said the commentator, who asked not to be named. "And that's not good for Chalabi," he said.

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