Chalabi's makeover places him near top

"BAGHDAD, Iraq — A tall Texas engineer in a John Deere cap and cowboy boots spoke slowly and a little too loudly to make sure a visiting Iraqi dignitary could grasp the mechanics of a power plant in a dusty village south of Baghdad.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi listened calmly to the contractor's carefully enunciated syllables, the kind a teacher might use with an ignorant student. Then, the MIT-educated mathematician shot back with an eloquent stream of jargon-laced comments that made the engineer's eyes widen.

"So, can we see the turbines now?" Chalabi finished with a grin.

"Absolutely," the humbled Texan replied.

The contractor was only the latest American to learn lesson No. 1 in dealing with Chalabi: Never underestimate him. A year after observers pronounced him finished — spurned by one-time American sponsors and with no apparent political base in Iraq — Chalabi has emerged more powerful than ever."
The Seattle Times

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