"Washington's official line - reiterated on Sunday by a leading hawk, Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz - is that the US is not going to install any one particular group to run the new Iraq."
"But this is unlikely to quell suspicions among Mr Chalabi's critics that the Pentagon is trying to give him a leading role - at the very moment when preparations for a post-war administration are moving into higher gear."
"Mr Chalabi has friends in high places. They include Vice-President Dick Cheney, the top men in the Pentagon and a number of prominent senators and congressmen."
"He has strong backing among some sectors of Congress and the Pentagon, but is thought to have little grassroots support in Iraq and a number of opposition groups have sought to distance themselves from the INC."
"According to the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan, Mr Chalabi and his movement "are failures and are not even qualified to run a grocery shop"."
