Friedman: Iraqis at the Wheel (Chalabi is AWOL)

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/06/opinion/06FRIE.html

For the past six weeks the news from Iraq has felt like the movie "Groundhog Day." I get up each morning, fire up my Internet and read that a roadside bomb has killed another U.S. soldier. I search for any good news, but rarely find it. Lord knows, we desperately need a new movie, and not "Apocalypse Now." The movie we need is the Iraqi version of "Mr. Chips Goes to Baghdad."

Here's what I mean: There is much talk now about the need for "Iraqification" of the police and armed forces, so Iraqis can take over for U.S. troops. No question, this is necessary. But it's not sufficient. We could have 100,000 Iraqis in the police and Army and it would not be enough — without one other person. We need an Iraqi leader (or a leadership council) elected as a result of an Iraqi constitutional or political process.

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But hey, you ask, "I thought that was what we were doing?" It is what we were doing, but the process got so bogged down, and the Baathist resistance so heated up, that it now looks as if we have only a military process in Iraq and no political process.

The reason this happened is that the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, which is supposed to come up with a plan for forming the constitution-writing committee, is becoming dysfunctional. Several key G.C. members, particularly the Pentagon's favorite son, Ahmad Chalabi, have been absent from Iraq for weeks. Only seven or eight of the 24 G.C. members show up at meetings anymore.

since he embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from the Kingdom of Jordan.

You said that getting rid of Saddam would be so good for the Iraqi people. Why are you not happy? Isn't this just what you wanted?

Now Saddam isn't killing thousands of his people, we are.