"The Man Who Pushed America to War" - Aram Roston on "The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi"

The war in Iraq is entering its sixth year with an outbreak of fighting in several cities across Iraq. At least fifty-five people have died and more than three hundred have been wounded since the Iraqi government launched an offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army in the southern city of Basra. The fighting is unraveling a ceasefire Sadr imposed last summer and fears are growing that the clashes could signal an end to the relative lull in attacks, assassinations, kidnappings and bombings. Meanwhile, it now appears President Bush will keep 140,000 troops in Iraq for the rest of his term.

All this comes just days after the fifth anniversary of the invasion. After half a decade of war with no end in sight, we take a look at “The Man Who Pushed America to War.” That’s the title of a new book about Ahmad Chalabi. He’s the Iraqi exile who lobbied Congress to support the invasion of Iraq, and he provided the Iraqi sources to journalists and congressmen who said that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction and had links to al-Qaeda. All of which turned out to be false. Chalabi led the Iraqi exile group the Iraqi National Congress. More recently, he promoted the so-called US troop “surge” to the Iraqi government. Who funded Chalabi’s work? The CIA, then the State Department.

Aram Roston is the author of the new book, “The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi.” Aram is an investigative journalist with NBC News. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones and the Nation. He joins us from Washington DC.

Aram Roston, author of the new book, “The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi.” Aram is an investigative journalist with NBC News. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones and the Nation.

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