WASHINGTON — U.S. officials were informed in advance that Iraq's interim government planned to crack down on Ahmad Chalabi, a longtime Bush administration ally, and did not object to the move, a U.S. official said.
Early this week, administration officials sought to distance themselves from the furor over arrest warrants issued Sunday for Chalabi, a prominent former exile, and his nephew Salem. They said they were unaware of the Iraqi government's plans.
But a U.S. official acknowledged in an interview Thursday that the Bush administration had been aware of the impending move against the Chalabis.
"We knew we were heading in this direction," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We had had discussions with senior members of the interim government, who had basically been telling us what they had uncovered."
In Iraq, the speculation is widespread that the charges were part of an effort by the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a longtime rival of Ahmad Chalabi, to tighten its hold on power.
U.S. officials publicly tried to steer clear of the confrontation, portraying it as the internal workings of a sovereign country. At the same time, the Americans have avoided taking steps -- such as consulting on the criminal charges -- that would make Allawi's government appear to be under U.S. control.
Chalabi, a longtime U.S. ally, is seeking a prominent role in the future of Iraq. His nephew heads the tribunal that is to handle the case against former President Saddam Hussein and other senior members of Hussein's deposed government. Ahmad Chalabi has returned to Iraq and plans to attend a national conference that begins Sunday and will pick an interim legislature.
"I expect him to attend, and he'll engage in a vigorous political discussion," said Francis Brooke, an advisor to Chalabi in Washington.
The arrest warrants were issued by the chief investigative judge of the Iraqi Central Criminal Court, Zuhair Maliky, who accused Ahmad Chalabi of counterfeiting and Salem Chalabi of murder in the death of a senior Iraqi official who had been investigating Chalabi family holdings. On Wednesday, the government forced Ahmad Chalabi's political party, the Iraqi National Congress, out of its offices in Baghdad.
Chalabi and his supporters in Iraq and the United States have claimed that the charges were unfounded, an attempt to neutralize Chalabi politically. They have charged that the United States worked in concert with Allawi's government.
