from the New York Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Tuesday, April 12 - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld landed in Iraq just before dawn on Tuesday, bearing warnings for the country’s new leaders of government corruption and civil turbulence that could delay a constitution and national elections.
Mr. Rumsfeld’s surprise visit, which was not announced in advance because of security concerns, is to include meetings with Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish militia leader who is the new president, and with Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the leader of a Shiite religious party who has been nominated to be prime minister. The daylong trip to Iraq will allow Mr. Rumsfeld to conduct the first face-to-face meetings by an American cabinet secretary with the new leaders since they were chosen.
Administration officials have voiced concerns that Iraq could fall prey to political purges motivated by religion, ethnicity, tribal or political affiliations that could upset the careful balance being built.
I guess really, since the BushCo has such experience in corruption, it’s only natural. With the Administration’s Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) throwing “sackfuls of money…‘about like footballs’”; with $1.5 billion in Development Fund for Iraq monies syphoned off to pay Halliburton’s inflated fuel prices as well as kickbacks to company officials; with the administration trying to hide that fact ; and with Congressional Republicans helping to keep a lid on it all, it’s likely that Rumsfeld can tip the new Iraqi government off on what to look for. “It takes a thief to catch a thief” seems real life now.
Of course the real fun will be seeing whether Talabani will hold to a national Iraq or will he start looking for an independent Kurdistan.
The last bit was what got me. Yes, if there’s one thing this administration has a reputation for, it’s keeping advisors with dissenting opinions on board so the president can make informed, balanced decisions, rather than just surrounding himself with yes-men who tell him what he wants to hear.