The London TimesOnline reported that most of the street lights in Baghdad went on last week for the first time in years. Although it represents a small improvement in the quality of life in Baghdad, it is quite a victory for Ahmed Chalabi who was put in charge of restoring essential services to the capital earlier this month by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
When you considering that he failed to win a seat in the Iraqi parliament two years ago, he has been blamed for goading America to war on bogus intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, and he has been accused of passing US secrets to the Iran, Chalabi's comeback can be seen as nothing short of remarkable.
...he has become an indispensable Mr Fix-it in a nation where civil society has broken down.
He still sees Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, the Shi’ite spiritual leader, and is relatively trusted by the radical cleric, Moqtadr al-Sadr, who has sought his advice on several occasions during the past three years when his Mahdi Army has run into trouble. Sadr called a ceasefire in August, which appears to have had a dramatic effect on the number of sectarian killings in the capital.
Sunni tribal leaders who denounced Chalabi as a stooge of the Americans now visit his fortified compound in Mansour, a plush suburb of Baghdad, hoping his influence with the American military will secure them extra resources to fight the remnants of Al-Qaeda.
Chalabi lives outside the protective bubble of the international “green zone” and has cultivated the air of a can-do politician who is not beholden to any faction.
He travels the country in a heavily protected convoy, cajoling Sunni tribal leaders into taking back Shi’ite refugees and finding out what services are required in each area.
His latest reincarnation began when he was appointed last February to head a committee which aimed to win popular support for the troop surge. It was Chalabi’s job to arrange compensation for damage to Iraqi homes and cars caused by aggressive US security sweeps in the hope of maintaining the support of the local population.
Chalabi now presides over a committee on services that includes American monitors and oversees the work of eight ministries, including those responsible for oil and electricity.
The challenges ahead are daunting, but for now the lights are on in Baghdad and Iraqis are coming home.
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