PARIS, 15 April 2003 — Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi, the man tipped to be Iraq’s next leader, said in an interview published here yesterday that he would not seek political office in any future government. “I want to participate in the rebuilding of civil society, which has been completely destroyed and corrupted,” Chalabi told Le Monde, in an interview published in today’s edition of the newspaper.
When asked if he intended to play a political role in postwar Iraq, he replied: “Absolutely not. I am not a candidate for any post.”
Chalabi lashed out at France and Germany for refusing to back the use of force against Iraq within the UN Security Council, saying they had “de facto supported Saddam Hussein and his regime.”
The Iraqi opposition leader said the United Nations, Paris and Berlin could not play any role in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, saying: “Iraq was the biggest political experiment for the UN and it failed.”
Speaking to Le Monde by telephone from the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriyah, he said that France and Germany were poorly viewed by Iraqis “from a moral perspective”, adding: “The Iraqis would never accept them.”
Amid skepticism about US plans for rebuilding Iraq, the 57-year-old Chalabi — who has lived in exile most of his life — has backing from only parts of the US administration and remains an unknown quantity for most Iraqis.
He told Le Monde that the United States “should stay (in Iraq) for two years, but not to govern. The people are thrilled to have been liberated by the Americans, but want to govern themselves.”
According to top US officials, Chalabi is not the United States’ preferred choice of ruler for the war-torn country.
“Chalabi is one of the recognized leaders of the opposition to Saddam Hussein, we also have contacts with a number of other leaders,” they said when asked if he was the Americans’ favorite.
“The decision as to who should be the leader of the new Iraq is an Iraqi decision,” said the officials, on condition of anonymity, briefing media at US Central Command in Doha. “I don’t think we are in the business of anointing someone,” they said.
An internal feud has emerged in Washington between the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency on one side and the Pentagon and parts of the White House on the other — much of it surrounding Chalabi.
Chalabi has riled the CIA and State Department with his flamboyant style and pronouncements, even though only two weeks ago the State Department restored some funding to his Iraqi National Congress suspended last year over management concerns.
US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said last week Iraqi exiles would have an important role to play in a postwar Iraqi government, but some may only stay temporarily.
Chalabi, who has close ties with Washington, said his vision for Iraq was a democracy with power in the hands of Iraqis. “I don’t believe the United Nations would
Some Iraqis see Washington as intent on setting up the former exiles in power, a fear fueled by the attention given to Chalabi, now head of the Free Iraqi Forces.
Ali Karim Al-Kaabi, who said he was a former squadron leader in the Iraqi Air Force, said he was not interested in seeing the exiled opposition return to assume power.
“They enjoyed themselves in London while we ate garbage here,” he hissed. “We are the ones who suffered.”
Several expressed support for a multi-factional government representing Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Kurds. Few among the crowd wanted to see any long-term American presence. “We want them to finish their job as soon as possible and leave,” Kaabi said.
