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Ahmed
Chalabi, the head of the UK-based Iraqi
National Congress (INC) and a businessman, is one of the
Pentagon's favorites for the leadership of Iraq.
Born
in 1945, Chalabi is a secular Shiite Muslim. He left Iraq in
1956 and lived in exile – mostly in the US and UK – for most
of his life, which explains why he doesn’t have much popular
support inside Iraq. It was only in March 2003 that he was moved
into Iraq by the US military.
In
1977, Chalabi founded the Petra bank that became the second
largest private bank in Jordan. However, in 1989, the Petra Bank
broke down and was seized by the Jordanian government under
martial law. In 1992, the Jordanian court charged Chalabi with
embezzlement, bank fraud and currency trading irregularities and
sentenced him in absentia to 22 years in prison with hard labor.
Chalabi’s
critics allege that he is using the INC to pursue his own
personal agenda.
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