My Cousin, Regime Changer

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Ahmad Chalabi: traitor to Iraq, or liberator? His distant cousin Selma Chalabi explores.

Ahmad Chalabi: traitor to Iraq, or liberator? Two decades on from the invasion, his distant cousin, journalist Selma Chalabi, explores his role in the lead-up to the Iraq war.

Ahmad Chalabi: traitor to Iraq, or visionary statesman? Two decades on from the invasion, his distant cousin, journalist Selma Chalabi, explores his role in the lead up to the Iraq war of 2003.

According to Selma’s father, Ahmad Chalabi betrayed Iraq. He believes the invasion inevitably caused more harm than good, and that the motives were self serving.

And so begins Selma’s quest to find out more about her distant relative, and whether her father’s damning assessment is fair. 

She starts by turning to biographer Aram Roston, who tells her:

“There’s no doubt that Ahmad Chalabi had an outsized impact on the world. He had immense influence on the actions of America and what Washington chose to do.”

Her journey takes her through Ahmad Chalabi’s whirlwind life, from the time he and his wealthy, influential Shia family were exiled in 1958, through his career as a mathematics professor and then on to his banking days. 

He set up the bank Petra in Jordan, which ended in scandal and he had to flee yet again, this time to London. It’s here that his political career took off and he connected with the CIA. He was funded to set up and facilitate a united, functioning Iraqi opposition. And so the Iraqi National Congress was formed. 

His relationship with the CIA ended badly. Undaunted, Chalabi re-invented himself and formed close ties with a group of politicians in Washington DC - the so-called Neo-conservatives. It was at this point in his life that he wielded the most influence. He was instrumental in getting an act passed in Congress - the Iraq Liberation Act. His goal was to topple Saddam Hussein. And people who knew him say he was laser focused. He was one of the first to enter Baghdad after the fall of Saddam in 2003. 

But as Iraq unravelled after the invasion, so did Chalabi’s relationship with the United States. When elections were finally held in Iraq, he didn’t poll well. He never became the leader of a post-Saddam Iraq and he died in 2015 at his family estate in Kadhimiya, Baghdad.

Con-man or statesman? Visionary or villain? Selma's journey provides a unique, personal window onto this pivotal moment in world history.

Produced and presented by Selma Chalabi
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4

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