For a guy who used to parade about Washington in a gold Rolls-Royce, manipulating credulous neoconservatives and revealing just how much influence a foreign lobbyist can have in this town, Ahmed Chalabi doesn’t really come around any more. The former double agent appears to have gotten pretty comfortable in Baghdad, doing a heckuva’ job restoring the city’s municipal services as the head of the Iraqi Services Committee. Matt Duss has a nice tidbit on Chalabi’s recent interview with Dar al-Haya, where, aside from contending that the U.S. conspired with the Iranians in overthrowing Saddam, he claimed to despise power and money, and said that he has never done a corrupt thing in his life.  

[Al-Hayat]: “Do you accuse the Americans of pillaging Iraq?

[Chalabi]: “They are the ones who created the culture of organized pillaging.”

[Al-Hayat]: “Was it pillaged by Iraqis?”

[Chalabi]: “Mostly Iraqis, and some Americans. But much of the real pillaging was done by Iraqis.”

[Al-Hayat]: “And you had nothing to do with this?”

[Chalabi]: “Never. I remained for a whole year, starting in May 2005, as president of the governmental contract committee. Every contract in Iraq worth more than three million dollars passed by this committee…I challenge anyone to say that this committee was involved in any sort of misuse of resources. We eliminated major manifestations of corruption during that period. At the same time, I exposed the pillaging in the defense and electricity ministries and the foreign press paid more attention to this than the Arab press.”

[Al-Hayat]: “…Don't you care about money?”

[Chalabi]: “Only in as much as it keeps me from needing people and satisfies my needs. But I am not greatly interested in hording fortunes. What would I do with them? Clothes, trips, and houses, I have all of these things.”

[Al-Hayat]: “So why do the campaigns focus on you for forming companies and banks then withdrawing money from them?”

[Chalabi]: “I did establish some companies in Jordan and I like to set up real companies.”

[Al-Hayat]: “But you were convicted of misappropriating funds in Jordan?”

[Chalabi]: “I left Jordan with less money than when I entered it (sic).”