Ahmad Chalabi has been an ubiquitous presence in the run up to the Iraqi invasion and during the war. As head of the Iraqi exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, he was considered unreliable by the CIA but embraced by the Neoconservatives. Much of the misinformation contained in the now discredited New York Times articles by Judith Miller on Iraqi WMDs came from Chalabi and was confirmed by neocons in the administration who were also echoing what they had heard from the INC. He has even bragged about his role in getting the United States to invade. If Chalabi didn't cause the war, he and his fellow INC members at least provided much of the necessary ammunition to administration officials already predisposed to invade.

During the occupation Chalibi incurred the disfavor of the occupation authorities who had his offices and residence searched. He was accused of revealing to the Iranians the fact that the U.S. had broken their diplomatic code, thus drying up a valuable source of intelligence at a critical time.

Despite being discredited by the Americans in Iraq Chalabi managed to joining the winning Shia coalition in the January elections and was made one of the Deputy Prime Ministers and has responsible for the oil industry. He has maintained his close relations with the Iranians even under the new hard line president and visited Tehran shortly before coming to our nation's capitol. Now he has audiences with the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and the Vice President and spoke before the American Enterprise Institute.

For more information on his background and visit see: here and here. The Salon.com article may necessitate looking at an add before viewing.

Who is to blame for the prewar deception?

Should Chalibi be received by high level officials?

Will his visit hurt or help the VP in his current crisis?