Chalabi

He’s back!….

Ahmad Chalabi…bigger than life…naturally…

I was looking at Newsweek and saw an article about Ahmad Chalabi. I thought he had disappeared shortly after the US invasion of Iraq, in which he had such an obscene, biased, and falsified influence.

I have dealt with con men in my past and now have an uncanny ability in recognizing one…and he is on the top of my list.

On the other hand I am culturally naïve; I find Russia an enigma, as did Winston Churchill. I find Chalabi an enigma. But both Russia and Iraz have cultures thousands of years older than the one in which I have been raised.

The Russian’s have had a culture of central power and control since somewhere around 900AD; Iraq and the surrounding Central Asian cultures have been fermenting for more than 7000 years.

I need to study this guy Chalabi closer because on the surface I cannot tell the difference between his personal self interest and the interest of Iraq (and Iran), but maybe that’s OK.

Putin and Medvedev seem to address what the Russian’s need.

Chalabi seems to have the art of bridging a whole lot of influencers. And perhaps that’s what is needed for future stability of that region.

In any event, I recently read a book written by Bulgakov and the devil is frequently not who you think he is. Maybe that’s true of Chalabi.

The US doesn’t seem to have any one central figure or government that controls a past culture….and maybe that will be our future culture…and maybe that’s OK as well.

Cultures that seem to stick to what has worked historically seem comfortable, safe, and have confidence.

So, I'll just keep on watching and try to do it with an open mind.

Perspective on preconceived ideas about cultures

Comments on GPSEG

Just want to comment on a new organization I recently joined. The Greater Philadelphia Senior Executive Group, GPSEG. First of all, the "Senior" is a reflection on the level of the members of the organization, not the age; I had to clarify this for my wife who assumes, because I am involved in some terrific "senior" educational seminars in Princeton, that everything I do is associated with this age group.
The GPSEG is one of the best networking groups in which I have been involved. Their philosophy is that networking is a lifelong process, which a number of books and pundits advocate, but this group practices. I have seldom met a more engaging or professional group. I have just joined their "CEO Roundtable" and look forward to mutually sharing business and life experiences that will assist in my advice, usually probono, to early stage companies, of which I have a passion.