Posted on 04/20/2006 2:00:25 AM PDT by HAL9000
The Babelfish translation is actually more intelligible than any recent quote by Sen. Kennedy.
I guess he finally got his Swiss bank account.
What on earth happened between yesterday and today to make him finally accept that it's over for him? Here's hoping he doesn't just get replaced by another Dawa party member. The PM really does need to be a secular.
I think it's been in the works for a while. He just had to get the face-saving process in place.
The reason they want him out is because he's too radical and because of his ties to al-Sadr and Iran.
They're doing things right here. It just takes them awhile.
(It takes them awhile to do just about anything. It's a culture thing. Insh'allah. LOL)
...and coming up the backstretch is Mr. Allawi...he's sprinting to the finish now!...
(Thanks for your insights.)
He certainly wouldn't be a bad choice, but I'm not sure if he has the support.
A good development. Iraq seems, however, to have chosen to follow the Italian model for government.
We'll have to see what they do now. This is all new to them. It's a democracy taking its baby steps.
They've made one thing apparent. They are aware that connections to al-Sadr and Iran are NOT the way to go. But I heard the Iraqis saying long before the first election in January '05 (one of the most fascinating experiences of my life) that they did not want to be "another Iran."
This is all very encouraging.
Click on the link.
What's the temperature today where you are?
Well, this morning, it's pleasant. (Although, it's been rather "explody" this morning after several days of calm.)
But yesterday got quite toasty - up into the upper 90s - and I suspect today will do the same.
(Another explosion just now...I think they're mortars. Somebody's busy this morning...)
So, it's not just real warm there, it's also a hot zone?
Looks like we've down to Tootsie Pops and Chips Ahoy for chocolate items that may make it without total meltdown.
I think there's a chocolate bunny still on its way to Irbil. You didn't want it so I sent it north. Probably will be a bit misshapen on arrival, but Dove chocolate is probably good even when amorphous.
Would you like a sign that says "Welcome to Paradise?"
They must have been unsuccessful (no casualties) or controlled detonations, because we haven't heard any chatter. There were several blasts this morning.
Would you like a sign that says "Welcome to Paradise?"
LOL - that's how we greet "newbies." I'm escaping "Paradise" for a couple of weeks in 11 days. Going to take one of my scheduled and much-needed breaks from it all. (Woohooo!)
Hope the bunny makes it to Irbil OK. I agree that if it's Dove, it'll taste good no matter what shape it's in. I have a drawer full of KitKats and M&Ms here to keep me going.
BTW, Irbil is one of those areas where Americans are pretty safe now. They can actually go out on the streets, go to shops and restaurants, etc.
We send the bulk of our packages to Tal Afar, Rawah, Mosul, Kirkuk and Ramadi. Sent alot of stuff to Baghdad, but those units have come home now.
Am cultivating another SGM who may be able to set us up with a Special Forces unit in Afghanistan. So far we've been relegated there to sending care packages to the fire bases via convoying by member of a POC.
There's a remnant left at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo that we send an occasional holiday package. They were cut off for a while due to a mudslide.
How was the mud this last winter where you were?
"A roadside bomb aimed at a U.S. military patrol exploded Friday morning in Dora, missing its target but wounding two Iraqi civilians who were driving nearby, said Abdul-Razzaq. A U.S. Army official confirmed that the attack had missed the American soldiers.
Three Iraqi policemen also were wounded by a roadside bomb that hit their patrol Friday in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Yarmouk, said Abdul-Razzaq. When police and witnesses rushed to the scene, a second bomb exploded, an AP photographer said."
The mud wasn't as bad this past winter for two reasons. It didn't rain as much this year and I'm in the middle of town where everything is paved.
Last winter ('04-'05), I was out on the desert at Taji (north Baghdad) and it rained a LOT. The mud here is the slimiest, slickest nastiest mud I have ever seen. I'm glad to be away from it. ;-)
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