The opposition Iraqi National Congress said on Tuesday leaders from across southern Iraq flocked to the town of Nassiriya to greet its leader Ahmad Chalabi, but a CIA report said he and other returning exiles would find little support among Iraqis.
The classified CIA report appeared to be part of the long and bitter struggle within the Bush administration over whether Chalabi and his colleagues can be effective leaders.

Francis Brooke, a close adviser to the opposition leader, said local Iraqi leaders had brought requests for Chalabi to mediate with the U.S. military authorities on matters such as power supplies and people held as prisoners of war.

"We have been receiving delegation upon delegation. We don't have time to meet them all. We are inundated," Brooke told Reuters in a telephone interview from Nassiriya.

Some of them were initially skeptical of U.S. intentions because the Iraqis had seen no clear evidence the Americans were intent on eliminating the Baathist network set up over decades by President Saddam Hussein, he said.

Saddam's government is under siege by U.S.-led forces seeking to topple him and rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, which Iraq denies having.

The U.S. military flew Chalabi to Nassiriya on Sunday, giving the INC a head start over other Arab opposition groups in establishing a political presence under U.S. protection.

It was a defeat for the State Department and the CIA, which do not believe Chalabi is a credible Iraqi leader.

The CIA report said Iraqis would not favor leaders of opposition exile groups for leadership positions in a new government.

"The bottom line is the Iraqi public does not view them favorably," a U.S. official familiar with it said.

But analysts say Chalabi's return will put him in a strong position when the United States starts to put together an interim Iraqi authority to run the country.

Brooke said the INC presence was useful but he doubted it would be a critical factor in forming a government.

"It is a chance to demonstrate our popularity on the ground. But the interim Iraqi authority is part of a process which started in London (last year)," he added.

Chalabi left Iraq in 1958, when the monarchy was overthrown, but Brooke said many of his visitors had memories of his family. He is a Shi'ite Muslim, like most southerners

PHOTO CAPTION

The opposition Iraqi National Congress said on April 8, 2003 that leaders from across southern Iraq flocked to the town of Nassiriya to greet its leader Ahmad Chalabi, but a CIA report said he and other returning exiles would find little support among Iraqis. Photo: Chalabi, seen during a February interview (Caren Firouz/Reuters)