The Machiavellian Snake

When I first heard that Ahmad Chalabi recently gave an interview on al-Baghdadiya and was asked a few questions about my father I expected to hear some nonsensical gibberish. I didn't expect him to spew lie after lie in front of the camera.

The first time I met Chalabi was in September 2003 in the al-Khoei Foundation office building in London. He was a brilliant actor. He actually made everyone believe he was genuinely upset about my father and in no uncertain terms made it clear he believed the Sadrists, acting on orders from Moqtada al-Sadr, murdered my father. He then declared very pompously, but seriously 'when I go back to Iraq I will be the first to put a bag over Moqtada's head'. 'من ارجع للعراق اني اول واحد راح البس الكيس على راس مقتدى'

When I heard that Chalabi a few months later was warming up to Moqtada, who as far as I could see had no bag over his head or handcuffs around his wrists, I knew Chalabi was a snake. It didn't take long for me to realise that he had left his friends in Washington and made new ones in Tehran. Courteous relations with the Sadr Movement was now not just expected of him, but demanded.

When he came to visit in 2003 he was President of the Iraqi Governing Council and of course as it was a private meeting his reputation, political career, and most importantly his life, was not on the line. On al-Baghdadiya a few days ago he churned up a very different story because the circumstances have radically changed. Apparently now he has no idea whether or not Moqtada al-Sadr is responsible for my fathers murder, and could not have promised my family that he would see to it Moqtada would be arrested because he claims he doesn't even know who carried out the murder of my father, let alone who ordered it.

Chalabi's recent remarks on al-Baghdadiya is just another cheap attempt to clean Moqtada's blood-stained hands ahead of the general election. Chalabi is running alongside many Sadrists on the same electoral ticket, and he could even get elected this time on the back of Sadrist votes. This isn't the first time my fathers blood has been used as a bargaining chip in Iraqi politics and it certainly won't be the last.

I am certain that if my father knew his death would bring about real change for the Iraqi people he would have died and died again a hundred times over, but what he couldn't have known was that his death, even 7 years on, is being used as some sort of card on the playing decks of sinister and sly Iraqi criminals who are masquerading as politicians. The real tragedy here is that some of these criminals are hiding behind the veil of Islam and are under the banner of the - it couldn't have been more inappropriately named - 'Iraqi National Alliance'.

I do not believe my fathers blood is special because he wore a black turban or is the son of a Grand Ayatollah. I believe his blood is special because he is my father. The Islamists running for election in the INA do however believe in these religious significances and their despicable and utterly shameful indifference or complicity should send a clear warning signal to every Iraqi that is even contemplating voting for them. How many other Iraqi families, like mine, have seen their fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters taken away from them and nothing is done about it because political points need to be scored? The answer is too many.