(Photo: AP) The list of Cabinet members approved by the interim National Assembly April 28, 2005, marked a surprising political comeback for former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite who will be one of four deputy prime ministers. He'll also serve as acting oil minister, as lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on a permanent person for that important post. Chalabi, 60, an MIT graduate and mathematician, left Iraq with his family in 1958 and became one of the most visible faces of Iraqi opposition in exile, forming close ties with the Pentagon as he lobbied Washington to help topple Saddam Hussein. After Saddam's fall, he became a member of the Governing Council and was touted by some in Washington to become Iraq's next leader. But he fell out with the United States last year over accusations he leaked intelligence to Iran. Many also blamed him for flawed evidence on Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction program. Shunned by the Americans, he moved to build ties with Iraqi Shiites and made a political comeback. By joining the United Iraqi Alliance, led by Shiite cleric and ally Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, he secured a seat in the new parliament.