McClatchey is reporting the arrest at Baghdad International Airport of Ali Faisal al Lami, a top aide to Ahmed Chalabi. The arrest is reported to be related to a June bombing that killed four Americans and six Iraqis. Chalabi and McCain have assoications extending back into the the 1990s and McCain also received Chalabi's enthusiastic support in the 2000 Presidential election.
Aram Roston, in his book about Chalabi, The Man Who Pushed America To War, details that McCain was one of initial backers of Chalabi's "International Committee for a Free Iraq" that was founded early in the 1990s. During the Clinton administration, McCain pushed to have America set up an Iraqi government in exile, using Chalabi's group.
After both the Pentagon and State Department rejected McCain's approach, McCain sponsored the "Iraq Liberation Act" in an effort to commit America to regime change in Iraq. McCain then used his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to chastise General Zinni when the General raised questions about Chalabi's exile group.
Despite McCain's efforst, the Clinton Administration was not as willing to jump in bed with Chalabi and the success of efforts such as McCain's in pushing through earmarks for Chalabi's then group, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), went unrealized by Chalabi as the Clinton State Dept held up the funds. McCain's 2000 campaign, however, presented Chalabi with a wonderful oportunity to get access to those funds on hold, and to use his relationships with McCain to launch other and more lucrative contacts. As a result, McCain garnered Chalabi's support during his 2000 Presidential bid.
The fact that McCain camp lobbyists like Charlie Black and Randy Scheunemann were also collecting money from Chalabi and his groups helped pave the way for McCain's close connections with Chalabi and Republican lobbyist connections such as their also helped Chalabi when his candidate, McCain, lost to Bush.
Those lobbyist ties have been detailed many places, including in kos diaries here,here,here,here,here, and here.
So prior to the Iraq war, Chalabi and McCain scratched each other's backs directly and through their mutual lobbyist connections. After the war, as Chalabi became associated with more and more suspicious activities, including allegations that he served as an Iranian spy to funnel infomation, including information that the US had the Iranian communications code McCain did not make any significant efforts to distance himself from Chalabi.
Indeed, being under embezzlement investigations, allegations of spying for Iran and linked to counterfeting operations made Chalabi did not prevent Gen. Petraeus from focusing on McCain's pal, Chalabi, as an integral part in the US "surge" strategy that McCain advocated.
"The key is going to be getting the concerned local citizens — and all the citizens — feeling that this government is reconnected with them," Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander here, said ... Chalabi "agrees with that."
...
Chalabi "is an important part of the process," said Col. Steven Boylan, Petraeus' spokesman. "He has a lot of energy."
Unfortunately, the McCain/Petraeus warm fuzzies have not prevented Chalabi from pressuring Maliki to support a troop withdrawal timeline. Adding some additional insult, Iraqi's oil ministry, which has on again, off again been run by Chalabi under what the US thought was ITS proxy, has announced a major oil deal. That deal was not, however, with the Big Oil backers of McCain's campaign but rather it is a several billion dollar deal with China
One of the main sticking points in the Iraq Oil Law that the US had been pushing was that the US drafted versions gave "production sharing" to oil and gas companies that get contracts with the Iraq government. In other words, in exchange for supplying engineers, drilling rigs, etc. the companies would not only receive payments for the services and equipment, but would also receive an ownership share in all oil produced from the fields they were working.
Despite spending American blood and treasure to try to push through those gurantees, the Chinese have entered the fray and indicated that they are quite willing to enter into oil deals with Iraq, taking payment for services only, without demanding a production share:
In the first major oil deal Iraq has made with a foreign country since 2003, the Iraqi government and the China National Petroleum Corporation have signed a contract in Beijing that could be worth up to $3 billion, Iraqi officials said Thursday.
...the Chinese company will provide technical advisers, oil workers and equipment to help develop the Ahdab oil field southeast of Baghdad, according to Assim Jihad, a spokesman for Iraq’s Oil Ministry...
The 22-year contract is a renegotiated version of a 1997 agreement between China and Iraq under Saddam Hussein. The original contract included production-sharing rights, but under the new contract China will be paid for its services but will not share in profits.
And China will also have the right to bring in its own security personnel into Iraq.
So following the announcements of Maliki wanting a timeline for troop withdrawal, and contemporaneously with the announcement of the Iraqi oil deal with China, we now suddenly discover that a top aide to McCain's best friend in Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi, is being arrested for suspicion of being involved in a bombing in June that killed Americans and was apparently targetting a political rival.
The arrest has left Ahmed Chalabi, McCain's former supporter and major client for McCain lobbyist, a bit miffed.
Chalabi condemned the arrest Thursday night. "This incident shows the need for an end to the random arrest of Iraqis by the American forces, which are against the human rights outlined in the constitution. It proves for a fact that each Iraqi might be arrested or put in prison without knowing the reasons," he said in a news release. He couldn't be reached for further comment.
I guess the real question now is whether McCain's selection of Sara Palin and her strong pro-life stance and will bring Chalabi and his known associates back into the McCain fold? /snark