The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures, and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi

by Aram Roston

This is the true story of Ahmad Chalabi, fraudster, statesman, banker, math whiz and aesthete, whose legendary charisma and charm - and almost hypnotic powers of persuasion - helped propel the United States to war in Iraq. This extraordinary investigative biography - written by an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for NBC's Investigative Unit - exposes massive white-collar mischief, sophisticated international espionage operations, and political intrigue spanning the globe from Tehran to Texas. Chalabi was a shrewd Iraqi Arab from a family of Shiite bankers. Aram Roston tracked down forgotten Chalabi business partners and friends and dug through the records from courthouses around the world. The book reveals how this convicted felon, fugitive from justice in Jordan, and ally of the Iranian government managed to charm and influence the top leaders fo the United States, including US senators like John McCain. The book has the inside story of Chalabi's pre-war propaganda operations the exclusive details of Chalabi's financial dealings and political access.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East, Biography, Politics, War, History

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2008

About the author

Aram Roston is an Emmy winning broadcast and print journalist who has worked as an investigative producer at NBC News, a correspondent at CNN, and a New York City Police reporter. He has been published in the London Observer, the Washington Monthly, GQ, Mother Jones, Maclean's, The New Statesman and elsewhere.

Reviews

[Qutaiba Yaseen · Rating 4 out of 5]

يتتبع آرام روستون في كتابه المعنون "أحمد الچلبي: الرجل الذي دفع أميركا الى الحرب" والصادر حديثاً باللغة العربية عن منشورات درابين سيرة الدكتور احمد الجلبي؛ احد القادة الاشكاليين على مر التاريخ و أحد أبرز خمس شخصيات ظهرت في تاريخ العراق الحديث؛ حيث يتتبع في أربع فصول مراحل نشأته ودراسته وأعماله المصرفية ومن ثم انجازه الشخصي الابرز في دفع أميركا لاسقاط نظام صدام.

هذا الكتاب موجّه أساساً للجمهور الأميركي وهو مصاغ بطريقة تحريضية بحتة تجدها في التكرار المستمر لعبارة "أموال دافعي الضرائب الأميركيين" والتي تستخدم في سياقات مختلفة في اشارة للدعم الذي كان يتلقاه احمد الجلبي لتمويل نشاطات المعارضة العراقية تحت خيمة المؤتمر الوطني وممارسة الضغط السياسي على صناع القرار الاميركان.

هذا الكتاب الذي انكر احمد الجلبي ما فيه من قصص وسرديات، فلم يفلح المؤلف بلقاء الجلبي واستعراض وجهات نظره بل عمد الى الاعتماد على مقالات متنوعة ولقاءات صحفية منشورة، ولقاءات يزعم المؤلف أنه قد أجراها مع المقربين من احمد الجلبي في المؤتمر الوطني، فيعتمد عليها من أجل نسج سرديات تدين الچلبي في قضايا عديدة، ابتداءً بقضية مصرف البتراء الشهيرة ومروراً بسوء استخدام التمويل الاميركي للمؤتمر الوطني في أعمال المعارضة، وانتهاءً بدور احمد الجلبي في حقبة ما بعد صدام ودوره في تشكيل البيت الشيعي.

لا أحد يستطيع ان يحكم بشكل دقيق حول صحة المزاعم المروية في الكتاب وتثبيتها وانكارها سوى الشخوص المذكورة اسمائهم في سطور الكتاب نفسه. على إنّي ورغم محبتي للدكتور احمد لكني لا استبعد ولا استغرب صحة بعض ما ذُكر من قصص. فالچلبي

عرف الدكتور احمد الچلبي بهالته الكارزماتية الطاغية وسحره الذي لا يقاومه أحد، فكان بارعاً في نسج الحيل والاكاذيب من أجل استمالة الاشخاص واستخدامهم من أجل هدفه الأساس في اسقاط النظام البعثي، وقد سببت هذه الخصلة بابتعاد الكثيرين عنه، حتى من دائرته المقربة بمجرد ما اكتشفوا احدى كذباته. كذلك فأنها ساهمت بانقسام الناس حوله وحول تقييم عمله وانجازاته بشكل دقيق من دون انحيازات عاطفية. لذلك أعتقد ان هذا الكتاب سيحبط الكثير من محبي الچلبي ويِفرح كارهيه. لذا فأني اوصي بعدم الاعتماد على هذا الكتاب فقط للحكم على الرجل، وقراءة كتب اخرى وتتبع حياته بشكل دقيق من أجل الوصول لفهم أفضل للچلبي وشخصيته ودوره الحقيقي في عملية اسقاط حكم صدام.

الچلبي، مثل كل الشخصيات التي صنعت التاريخ، سيبقى شخصية اشكالية لا يتفق اثنين في حبها أو كرهها. هو بالنهاية بشر، يخطئ مرة ويصيب مرة كما إننا قد نتفق أو نختلف مع قراراته السياسية لكن من الضروري عدم اجحاف دوره في اسقاط النظام فهو بالنهاية انجازه الشخصي الأسمي الذي لا ينكره حتى أشد كارهيه، ومنهم مؤلف هذا الكتاب.

ختاماً أشكر الصديق علي الطوكي على اهدائي الكتاب والذي لولاه لما كان لهذا الكتاب أن يرى النور، كذلك شكري للصديق العزيز عدنان چراخ على حسن ترجمته وصياغته وهوامشه التي صوّبت بعض الاخطاء التي اقترفها المؤلف في كتابه.

[Collin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent recounting and analysis of Chalabi and his role in starting the Iraq War. The thesis, which is that the Bush administration is primarily to blame, is correct, which is why it’s disappointing that at times the book seems to lose that theme while getting bogged down in the details of his life and schemes. The small details are what makes this shine, like his relationship with ice cream.

[Valerie Baber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be honest. I’ve never really been interested in world affairs or politics. The only time I would be interested in either one of those, is if I happened to be having an affair with a politician. But that wasn’t the case. A friend of mine told me that I needed to buy the book and spread the word. I promised that I would. And because it seemed to mean something to him, I told myself that I would read it front to back, regardless of how painful it might be.

The fact that after having completed the prologue, I was actually interested in reading the first chapter was a shocker to me. But the talented Aram Roston does such a delightful job at creating a vivid picture of twisted characters and scandals that I wanted to see more. I kept reading and thinking, “Wow. I might actually read a good story, learn something new…and like it!”

The whole subject is new to me, so it’s difficult to give a detailed review in anything other than a lay persona terms…and I do mean lay. In a very abbreviated nutshell, here’s my hazy ADD style skinny on the story:

This Iraqi teen goes through some crazy drama. Traumatized, indeed, but he is also smart. When he gets older, he goes into academia. He can’t stick with it, though, so he does the thing that his family wanted him to do and goes into banking. There, he loses a lot of peoples money, yet still manages to live like a king. He screws a lot of people over and somehow manages to always get away with it every time. Then America becomes interested in him and gives him some money to work with the FBI. Because of his power and experience, politicians take an interest in him and he somehow magically began to woo and influence congress. Then September 11th happened and some crazy business went down, which ultimately leads to the questions, is Ahmad Chalabi responsible for Americas involvement with the current war in Iraq? It’s up to you to decide. And through the compilation of interviews and facts that Roston dug up, you will have sufficient material to form an educated opinion. It’s exciting, really. It’s a story of extravagance, travel, terror, money, the FBI, the CIA, The UN, money, mistresses, business, lies, money, vivid characters, mystery, revenge, money, scandal, death, manipulation…oh… and money.


In addition to the fact that it’s just a good, educational story that can entertain even politically unsavvy readers, this book just makes you feel more desirable by simply carrying it around. It actually worked as both a fantastic conversation piece and an unexpected pick up tool. Wear pumps and be seen reading this book. Smart men everywhere will ogle you in a way that you have never been ogled before. They will actually approach you in a respectable manner and ask you about your thoughts on literature and the state of world affairs. It has been a most unusual and refreshing experience. It’s also good for chasing the dumb and undesirable away. When seen holding this book, you will actually intimidate them.

**Hint: take this book to a car wash near an affluent neighborhood. This has been proven effective. Also consider reading this at your doctor’s office while your waiting to be attended to, especially if the doctor is cute and single.

In summary, this is simply just an awesome book. It’s expanded my interests in things that happen outside of the little sphere I usually hide myself in, and it’s given me a new sort of knowledge and confidence.

If you want to learn more, or say, get an actual review of the book, a good place to do this is at: www.aramroston.com.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was REALLY interesting. The title is purposely sensational, but mostly it's a biography about a really fascinating person. I think the author makes some pretty big assumptions occasionally, and even he admits that there were other individuals "pushing" America to war. But really, it was very interesting to read.

[Suha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone interested in how the decision to go into war in Iraq was made or shall we say influenced ...

[Mohammed Mashkour · Rating 3 out of 5]

يحمل الكاتب حقد دفين ضد أحمد الچلبي مما جعل الكتاب منحاز جداً ولكن يعتبر مهم من ناحية توثيق الكثير من الامور مهمة جدا للتأريخ.

[أم المصائب · Rating 4 out of 5]

كيف يمكنني الحصول على الكتاب بالمجان عبر الشبكة العنكبوتية افيدونا يرحمكم الله

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roston does a great job of explaining Chalabi, who has a life of many facets, none of which is simple. The formative event is this 13 year old's response to the family's loss in the 1958 revolution in Iraq.

I was surprised that the "Dr." is a PhD in math from the University of Chicago. This is the only straightforward achievement on his resume. Once he left the field of mathematics to become a banker the convoluted tale of intrigue begins.

Roston explains problems with the Chalabi family's Petra Bank in a way that every reader can understand. The legal wake of the Petra fiasco trails him but never catches him. Roston presents, in a clear chronology how Chalabi went from the bank loss (or was it?) to an international political career.

Despite Chalabi's criminal status he's able to charm the neo-cons in the US. They buy his line that Saddam must be overthrown and that with an invasion of 2000 troops, the problem will be feeding the defecting Iraqi army. The book details how neocons provided him access resulting in various government agencies giving him funds. Eventually his US taxpayer funded advocacy created a congressional resolution making the overthrow of Saddam official US policy. This led to war for the US and wealth for the Chalabi family.

The book raises so many unanswerable questions. What was it about the neo-cons that made them susceptible to Chalabi's message? Who, really, is the omnipresent Francis Brooke, who with his wife and kids live with Chalabi? Why was Chalabi's criminal status never presented by the US media? Why were WMD stories not fact checked? Does Chalabi really stumble into his political career? Does he do it for the money? Does he do it for revenge on the Baathists? Does he do it for his Shiite identity? Or does he do it because he can?

The story of Chalabi is surely not over, but a book like this helps to put some light on who he is.

[Aram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Official: 6 killed in Iraq bomb; Chalabi uninjured
By BUSHRA JUHI – 1 day ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Ex-Iraqi deputy prime minister and former Pentagon favorite, Ahmad Chalabi, escaped a suicide car bomb attack on his convoy in Baghdad, an official in his office said Saturday.
Chalabi was not wounded, but the explosion Friday night in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour killed six of his bodyguards, said Ayad Kadhim Sabti.
Police said more than a dozen other people were wounded in the blast.
Chalabi, a secular Shiite who was once viewed by Washington as a possible successor to Saddam Hussein, was on his way to his headquarters in the area when the bomb exploded, his office said.
After spending most of his life abroad, Chalabi returned to Iraq in 2003 and served in the 25-member Governing Council appointed by the American occupation authorities to run the country's day-to-day affairs.
He was a member of the next two Cabinets, serving as finance minister and then as deputy prime minister but failed to win a seat in parliament in the 2005 election.
He now is chairman of a commission responsible for keeping Saddam loyalists out of government posts, his office said, and is believed to have escaped several assassination attempts since 2003.
Meanwhile, at least six people were killed and about 50 were injured Saturday — including 19 in critical condition — when a suicide bomber attacked a market in Tal Afar, police and medical officials said.
The small but strategic northwestern Iraqi city near the Syrian border has been a frequent target of suicide bombers over the past five years.
Last month, officials said 25 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a crowded market in Tal Afar, which is located about 260 miles northwest of Baghdad. U.S. officials blamed the Aug. 8 attack on al-Qaida in Iraq.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor narrative, does not paint a complete picture of the person.

Does relate some fascinating antidotes regarding the willful way the CIA will toss money away. In the end we paid this man millions to tell us what we wanted to hear.

PBS had a great interview with Richard Armitage which sums Chalabi up:


Armitage:[This] was the same Ahmad Chalabi who came to town early on after the invasion with his INC and was involved in looting, robbing cars, things of that nature, and the same Ahmad Chalabi who couldn't get a vote, couldn't win one seat in the Iraqi parliamentary elections. The notion that [we] can put a diaspora Iraqi in who had been out of the country for 30 years to lead a nation [which had] been under that much trauma for so many years was laughable and remains laughable.


Questioner: Did you know that long before?

Armitage: No. I had met Mr. Chalabi in '98, and I, like many others, was quite taken with him. When I got into the Department of State and I saw that we were required by congressional action to actually fund the INC, I started to look into his activities. I looked into trying to get some receipts, as a steward of the national funds, from him, not down to the penny, not down to the dollar, not even down to the hundred dollar. I just wanted to [get] an idea of where the money was going.

And when I couldn't get it -- I couldn't get any receipts from him, and he seemed upset about this -- I no longer had the State Department fund him. The funding went to the Department of Defense. So it didn't take me long to come to the belief that Mr. Chalabi was a charlatan.

[Jessica Leight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahmed Chalabi is a fascinating figure and one of immense importance to U.S. politics. However, the importance of the subject of this book is (sadly) by no means matched by its quality. Roston doesn't seem to have a very deep knowledge of his subject or of Iraqi politics. The narrative is choppy, exacerbated by extremely short chapters, and often seems to wander. There is no sense of perspective about important details; for example, we learn twice that Chalabi likes to eat dinner with his napkin tucked into his shirt. In fact, the book is overstuffed with accounts of or comments on meals. At the same time, other centrally important questions seem ignored or underexplored. There is some discussion of the role of the neocons in propping up Chalabi, but not enough. Nor is his sudden alliance with Shiite clerics explained.

Regardless of your opinion of the quality of the research and writing, it is worth noting for any prospective reader that the book objectively places far more emphasis on Chalabi's pre-war history, and its account of the events after the U.S. invasion is much briefer. Thus if you're interested in learning about the recent tumult in Iraq, this certainly isn't the right book to read. But if you're interested in simply learning more about Chalabi, this probably isn't the right book to read either.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

So if these kind of books are exempted from the "needs to be good writing" category and I'm just judging on content alone, it was interesting. Long. Rather involved. A lot of detail, and winding trails of information, and acronyms. However, it was intriguing to reflect upon the many layers of international politics and thought that went into somethings so not-well-thought-out.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Untold back story about Ahmad Chalabi. Roston is an intrepid reporter and entertaining writer.