Iraq National Congress Office Closed

Iraq National Congress Office Closed

Al-Hayat reports via Agence France Presse that the head of the office of Ahmad Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress in Baghdad has been told by the caretaker Iraqi government that he had 24 hours to close the office.

Ahmad Chalabi and his nephew Salem, previously darlings of the US Department of Defense, now face arrest for money laundering and murder, respectively.

It is one thing for an individual politician to be arrested. It is another for a political party to be targetted. Tuesday’s report sounds like the second, and if it is true, it seems to be another indication that Iraq under US auspices is slipping back into dictatorial methods.

Ahmad Chalabi gave an interview on al-Jazeerah Tuesday in which he said that the US came to Iraq as liberators, but within a couple of months had become occupiers. He condemned the massive US military operations in Najaf and said that although he was sure he could play a mediating role to end the crisis, he realized that he would not be allowed to do so.

Al-Jazeerah also reported that Iraqi Minister of Justice, Malik Dohan al-Hasan, has threatened to resign unless the judge who indicted the Chalabis is fired. Al-Hasan has also expressed sympathy for the Mahdi Army members in Najaf.