# Interesting quote from Paul Bremer

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-quote-from-paul-bremer/185649>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 1, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-quote-from-paul-bremer/185649 "2003-07-01T20:29:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-quote-from-paul-bremer/185649/21 "2003-07-02T20:26:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by rjung \*  
> **And who gets to decide whether any members of a new Iraqi government are honest-to-Allah pure-bred Iraqis, or just a member of an outside party/terror group/hate-filled religious fundamentalist in disguise?**

Since we have already had reports of groups from other Arab nations crossing the border to join in the “good fight”, that’s one working definition of “outside parties”.\*\*

> [@](#):
>
> Wait, wait, don’t tell me… it’s the **United States** that gets to decide, right?
> 
> Yeah, the freedom to choose from American Puppet #1, American Puppet #2, or American Puppet #3. :rolleyes: \*\*

Your opinion is worth about as much as the one in my previous post, when I said “If the Iraqis genuinely turn out to want a dictatorship of anti-U.S. mullahs, then things will get interesting.”

It might be nice to see what type of government emerges before judging it to be a puppet state. Otherwise you come off sounding like your foreign policy outlook is derived from Groucho Marx in _Horsefeathers_\*:

“I don’t know what they have to say,  
It makes no difference anyway.  
Whatever it is, I’m against it.” \*\*

> [@](#):
>
> Gee, isn’t that _conveeeeeeeeeeeeeenient._\*\*

Nice Randall Terry impression. 😃

\*come to think of it, I’d take him over Donald Rumsfeld.

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**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\
**Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-quote-from-paul-bremer/185649/22 "2003-07-02T22:51:15Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \*  
> Your opinion is worth about as much as the one in my previous post, when I said “If the Iraqis genuinely turn out to want a dictatorship of anti-U.S. mullahs, then things will get interesting.”

And my point was that the chances of any anti-US Iraqis even _getting_ on the ballots are next to nil – anyone running for office whom Centcom deems to be a danger will simply be classified as a outside party/terror group/hate-filled religious fundamentalist, and be pounced upon by the US forces. The “freedom” to choose from American-approved candidates is no freedom at all.

Though I’ll agree that Groucho Marx would be far more preferable to Donald Rumsfeld. 🙂

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