The Importance of Being Chalabi

It's perfectly understandable how an outsider might be taken aback by the sight of Ahmad Chalabi at a funeral gathering in Sadr City. The apparently incongruous vision of the impeccably dressed banker amid the modest people may not add up to the Westerner.

But for a reporter to misunderstand that image suggests that the journalist misses one of the most basic elements of Middle Eastern society. It is foolish to underestimate the importance of lineage.

Certainly lineage is important in other places. In the United States, for example, Caroline Kennedy's opinion of Barack Obama turns out to carry weight. Some French people are asking whether Nicolas Sarkozy's modest roots might be a reason he's disappointing the proud country.

In the Middle East, names are everything. In Lebanon, the unique Walid Joumblat, for example, is where he is today because of his father and grandmother. Moktada Al Sadr is able to draw a crowd because of his own's family's heritage. And Ahmad Chalabi is no exception.

One of McClatchy's reporter wonders what Chalabi is doing at a funeral in Moktada's turf. Chalabi is welcome there for many reasons. He is welcome because he has been the liaison between the Sadrists and the government pretty much all along. And, he is welcome because the Middle East values a member of a prominent family paying respects at a funeral.

Outsiders rely on local translaters and fixers. Most of the local hires are dedicated employees. And many follow the Arab tradition of telling people what they want to hear, which can complicate matters for the visitor.

Arabic language newspapers have their own problems. But many members of the Western media lack a basic understanding of the region they are covering. No wonder it's hard to know what's really going on in Iraq.