SHOCK SHOTFew people were were ready for President George Bush’s standing with Iraq ’s head of state affably doing the hand shaking routines. Both men are obviously adept at the well-known and oft-used maneuver marking time, but our TV people ,wondering what their rather elaborate equipment and personnel setup at the Camp David, Maryland, “Peace Conference” were doing at the moment they were stretching as best they could to make a pooled camera shot suffice a moment longer. The producer of the network I was watching seemed to like it all so much hat hat he ran it over again Bush and the new PM walked away rather suddenly as if the two leaders were eager to get something started.
I was pleased that either our President now seemed to speak conversational Arabic or that the Prime Minister had just stepped away from his “Rosetta Stone:” - “Political Emergency Course in English”. They chatted away, it appeared over either dead or uncomprehending microphones. It was a good “photo op” without extra cameras nearby.
The trip to Baghdad – Bush’s second – was a better kept secret than other such departures. The awareness of the trip was a surprise for some guests at Camp David and to find at their presidential host had flown the coop as they slept as it was for you and for me.
President Bush picked up a few points last week when Iraq’s Number Two Unwanted was erased and this trip, as novel change always seems to do, will, gather in a few more political points. I strikes me as unfortunate that we follow such a popularity in judging work of our leaders. Such recognition is often ephemeral and can be quickly reversed by another news item. The situation in Iraq is far too serious to be exposed to any such any such chance-ridden reasoning. This is,indeed, a “new” government for that area. It embodies, often for the first time, democratic concepts which will affect the overall decisions to be made will be influential on the new life Iraqi citizens may enjoy in the future.
The biggest mistake we could possible make in our highly responsible position in the formation of the new government in Iraq would be for us to expect it to be a copy of our own.
Think about that for more than a minute or two.
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 6-13-06 [c408wds]
