Where this gets the Iraqis isn’t clear — maybe just UN election monitors. But like I said in the last thread, Allawi’s not stupid. He knows Iraq’s neighbors have way too many conflicting interests to let ‘em run free in his country.

Anything you want, we got right here in the U.S.A.

Credit to Chuck Berry

Salutations, Samuel.

I was one day (and at least one comma) over yesterday.

96 days to go and I’m so glad.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan has arrested a Tanzanian al-Qaida suspect wanted by the United States in the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the interior minister said Friday. He said the suspect was cooperating and had given authorities ìvery valuableî information.

The more details we get on this proposal, the more I think David C has hit the nail on the head.

Too Many Steves-

If you are a C.P.A. in public practice long enough, you eventually end up with someone at your door complaining that “they always seem to be broke” (or some sort of variation on that theme) and they want you to go over their finances and find out what is “wrong”. Invariably, and I do mean invariably, what you discover is that you have a new client who is not living within their means.

Now, the first time or two you get this type of client, you put in all sorts of effort detailing out where all the money goes, preparing a household budget, and listing out recommendations as to what needs to be done to bring spending in line with earning. Then you sit the client down in a formal meeting and show them all this wonderful stuff and go over everything in detail…it is all professional, by-the-book, high quality work.

What happens next is either (a) the client thanks you and you never see him again, or (b) the client tells you you are full of shit and fires you. This happens because people do not react well, ever, when you start talking to them about adopting a lifestyle that involves fewer goodies than the one they have now. They do not want you to give them analysis and budgets and advice. They want you to make it go away; “You’re the accountant. Do something.”

After the first couple of experiences with this type of client, what you do is collect your fee and show them the door. Permanently.

It really isn’t up to the “government” to rationize our nation’s energy policy…and none will because each and every choice available involves both unpleasantness and sacrifice. Period. Any U.S. administration that seriously proposed unpleasantness and sacrifice for energy self-sufficiency would soon be an ex-administration. People don’t want energy self-sufficiency…they want “government” to make it all go away. You know, do something.

Ergo, I drive my two and half ton, 4.3 liter V-8 sport utility vehicle without a tinge of guilt…and I get irritable when I get the “SUVs are bad for the environment” thingee (ask Eric Deamer, he will verify that). It ain’t about SUVs versus farty little Honda hybrids…it is about $5 a gallon gas, serious vehicle taxes, mandatory urban planning, mass transit, etc., etc., etc….and it is all, most assuredly, about oil.

John Kerry doesn’t drive a tofu-powered SUV, and none of the Heinz estates are heated by mung beans. And windmills are not generating the light in the Fleet Center tonight.

Okay, he’s probably doing his job and is the carrot to someone else’s stick.

This could be fascinating.

If nothing else, simply the fact that they are Arab, rather than American may be enough to quell some or even much of the violence.

Oxytoxin dearest

Of course, in the context of Iraq, Turkish forces would be even more politically incendiary than Saudis, so they’d be out of the question for this particular scenario….

Pakistan might be able to field some semi-useful forces. They have some experience and have been involved with UN peacekeeping missions (no recomendation, I understand). As I recall they lost more troops in Somalia than the US did.

I vaguely recall that some SA forces did reasonably well in the first Gulf War.

After that I expect any other muslim nation would provide troops similar to what was easily witnessed in news footage from the first Gulf War. I remember watching news footage about the great help we were getting from countries like Egypt and they showed and Egyptian artillery crew that was downright comical if they hadn’t been handling hi-explosives. I don’t know what they were providing us but it wasn’t help and the safest place to be when that artillery crew was firing was probably exactly where they were supposed to be shelling.

As David C. said this is some sort of political dance that will likely come to nothing. I’d wager its got more to do with making some sort of “statement” to Iran than anything else.