Sweets and Flowers – Moon of Alabama

March 2, 2008

Sweets and Flowers

(QUESTIONER): Vice President Cheney yesterday said that he expects that American forces will be greeted as liberators and I wonder if you could tell us if you agree with that and how you think they’ll be greeted and also what you meant you said before that some Iraqi opposition groups might be in Baghdad even before American forces?

KANAN MAKIYA: I most certainly do agree with that. As I told the President on January 10th, I think they will be greeted with sweets and flowers in the first months and simply have very, very little doubts that that is the case.
Transcript of Iraq Seminar with Richard Perle and Kanan Makiya, National Press Club, March 17, 2003

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Ahmadinejad held hands with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as they walked down a red carpet to the tune of their countries’ national anthems, his visit the first by an Iranian president since the two neighbors fought a ruinous war in the 1980s.

His warm reception, in which he was hugged and kissed by Iraqi officials and presented with flowers by children, was Iraq’s first full state welcome for any leader since the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Iran leader’s Iraq visit eclipses U.S., Arab ties, Reuters, March 2, 2008

Posted by b on March 2, 2008 at 18:05 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Dear Leader has to furtively sneak in to a remote Anbar base in the dead of night, while Ahmadinejad gets the read carpet treatment in Baghdad. that’s gotta hurt.

Posted by: ran | Mar 2 2008 19:23 utc | 1

Rapture Is Not An Exit Strategy.
That is all, on this fine Sunday morn.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Mar 2 2008 20:04 utc | 2

Bush held hands with Prince Bandar. And the King of Jordan made a moving speech at Rabin’s funeral. Etc.
NO leader, state official, rock star, media personality (Bono? Angelina Jolie?) from either the ‘west’ ‘arab’ states, the ‘unaligned’, ‘africa’, or the UN, (de Viera Mello was killed) have ever gone to Iraq to eat lamb with rice, dates, sample the local culture and share and pontificate, supporting Art, Music, new ties, etc. (Now there is the Iranian ‘pres’ or a first state visit…)
US officials excepted – they visit prisons, drool over dungeons, and bring their own food…The only foreign member of the CPA was Australian, and they have gone there only for the wheat trade, not reported in the press; besides that only a few French people have go for the cultural bit…after the Florence Aubenas kidnapping and the subsequent secrecy about the ransom, and more events following on from that…few have persevered, but still the French go there today.
The Iraqis are toast, they are untouchables. They have no state, no papers, no UN / nation status, claim to anything. Not even food relief. In a way they are worse off than the Palestinians, at least seen as ‘occupied’ or as a state by some 80 countries, never recognized of course.

Posted by: Tangerine | Mar 2 2008 22:20 utc | 3

hell, he’s only looking at the property the u s is looking after for him –

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 3 2008 0:44 utc | 4

iraq – from cradle of civilisation – to concentration & concentric circles of carnage

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 3 2008 0:46 utc | 5

gee, something tells me every iraqi is not too pleased w/this.

Posted by: annie | Mar 3 2008 2:27 utc | 6

But wait barflies, read carefully. In ’03 quote from Nat’l Press Club, he said:
… I think they will be greeted with sweets and flowers in the first months, …
He’s not too far wrong. He just omitted any discussion of subsequent dynamics of Western Occupation 🙁

Posted by: jj | Mar 3 2008 3:59 utc | 7

Laura Rozen had an exerpt from the new Iran sanctions package that the UN is supposed to vote on this week at her blog (War and Piece) this morning. Item #10 on searching ships scares the bejeezus out of me when I think of the huge U.S. armada camped out over there in Iran’s shipping lanes just looking for something provocative to do.
From War and Piece:
“The UN Security Council is expected to approve a third round of international sanctions against Iran today. (AP). Here is a copy of the February 21 draft sanctions resolution I obtained.
8. Calls upon all States to exercise vigilance in entering into new commitments for public provided financial support for trade with Iran, including the granting of export credits, guarantees or insurance, to their nationals or entities involved in such trade, in order to avoid such financial support contributing to the proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems, as referred to in resolution 1737 (2006);
9. Calls upon all States to exercise vigilance over the activities of financial institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in Iran, in particular with Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, and their branches and subsidiaries abroad, in order to avoid such activities contributing to the proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems, as referred to in resolution 1737 (2006);
10. Calls upon all States, in accordance with their national legal authorities and legislation and consistent with international law, to inspect the cargoes to and from Iran, of aircraft and vessels, at their airports and seaports, owned or operated by Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, provided there are reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft or vessel is transporting goods prohibited under this resolution or resolutions 1737 (2006) or resolution 1747 (2007);
11. Requires all States, in cases when inspection mentioned in the paragraph above is undertaken, to submit to the Security Council within five working days a written report on the inspection containing, in particular, explanation of the grounds for the inspection, as well as information on its time, place, circumstances, results and other relevant details.”

Posted by: Maxcrat | Mar 3 2008 13:33 utc | 8

Nobody is paying attention to the previous, or ongoing, sanctions on Iran.
Upping them will have no effect. Nothing will change.
Hundreds of articles, sites, speeches, trumpet links, cooperation, in energy, commerce, trade, culture, education, etc. between Iran, the US, EU, rest of world.
Google: Iran / export / business / trade / opportunities / sell / bank / oil / cement / etc.
That’s just what is out there. Soccer Moms in the US may be scared to death to buy Iranian pistachios, if they bother to read the label on the packet, that is about it.
It is a bust, Iran knows it, Europe knows it, nobody cares – except, from time to time, to appease the US some startling scandal has to be hyped, some bank control on Iranian expats, a stiff fine for company in the US that sold plastic sandals to Iran, only little people of course, the biggies can use influence.
Look, Ma, clean hands, we do really HATE Iran!
Free trade, globalization, money is made, it can’t be stopped. The US effort to demonize Iran is judged as weak, stupid, misguided, or evil. The US will not be able to take over Iran’s oil, maybe not even Iraq’s after trillions of dollaris spent …ppl prefer business as usual, the restaurant, the board room, negotiations, personal ties, easy money, etc.
Iran exports *oil, nat gas*, about 80% of exp. revenue?, petro-chemicals, metals, fertilizer, arms, electricity, cement, steel (prob. not much), plastics, carpets, and sure pistachios. The import picture is just as consequent. Even far distant and sneering Britain lists Iran as a vital export destination. (7th in the ME according to one article.)
US interests and diplomatic relations in Iran are handled by the Swiss, they are a conduit, and inject their measure of reasonableness, their role is the keep trade going.

Posted by: Tangerine | Mar 3 2008 16:11 utc | 9

Feith: It was Powell’s fault. He didn’t stop us.: Pentagon insider attacks war plan

A former Pentagon official has written a book attacking Colin Powell, the CIA and other US officials over the US-led Iraq war, the Washington Post reports.
As under secretary of defence until 2005 Douglas Feith was closely involved with the planning of the invasion.
However, in “War and Decision”, he blames officials outside the Pentagon for seriously mismanaging the invasion and occupation, the Post reports.
Out next month, it is the first insider account of Pentagon decision-making.
The newspaper says that Mr Feith accuses intelligence officials and the US state department, led at the time by Mr Powell, of repeatedly scuppering defence department plans for the invasion.
According to the Post, Mr Feith claims that US President George W Bush told a National Security Council meeting “war is inevitable” weeks before a team of UN weapons inspectors, headed by Hans Blix, had made their final report on Saddam Hussein’s weapons capabilities.
‘More harm than good’
Mr Feith reportedly singles Mr Powell out for criticism, saying that though he allowed himself to be portrayed as a dove, he never spoke out against the war.

Yeah, blame the ‘nigger’, a time tested travesty.
WHY THE FUCK DOESN’T ANYONE MOVE TO CONVICT THESE WAR CRIMINALS??? Including Powell…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Mar 10 2008 5:31 utc | 10

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