US lawmakers worry about Chalabi's role in new Iraq govt
AFP,Washington
Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi on Sunday sought to defuse reports that he would be sidelined in the interim government due to take political power in Iraq from June 30, amid mounting concerns in Washington about the long-time US ally. "We should be very careful with this man. I think he's partly the solution and a significant part of the problem. He's not trusted in Iraq, and yet he's part of the government," Representative Christopher Shays told the "Fox News Sunday" programme. Senator Richard Lugar echoed that concern, saying in retrospect the United States probably should not have given Chalabi responsibility for dismantling the Iraqi army. "Now, of course, we come to the point in which Ambassador Brahimi, in trying to name the people, the 29 people for the new government, is pointedly pointing toward the fact that Chalabi will not be one of them," Lugar told CNN. The top UN envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, last week laid out his proposals for a caretaker Iraqi government to be set up before June 30.
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