Like snake oil on water, Chalabi rises to the surface once again

Josh Marshall highlights this article in todays Wall Street Journal:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In his latest remarkable political reincarnation, onetime U.S. favorite Ahmed Chalabi has secured a position inside the Iraqi government that could help determine whether the Bush administration's new push to secure Baghdad succeeds.

In a new post created earlier this year, Mr. Chalabi will serve as an intermediary between Baghdad residents and the Iraqi and U.S. security forces mounting an aggressive counterinsurgency campaign across the city. The position is meant to help Iraqis arrange reimbursement for damage to their cars and homes caused by the security sweeps in the hope of maintaining public support for the strategy.

The article goes on to say that some fear that Chalabi may use this position to undermine local governments and may also direct the "surge" against Sunni neighborhoods while protecting Shi'a neighborhoods.

However, given Chalabi's past history (e.g., he was convicted of bank fraud in Jordan), putting him in charge of "reimbursements" sounds to me like presenting him a perfect opportunity to skim some vigorish off the top.