Bush's surprise visit risks international wife incident
Bush's surprise visit risks international wife incident
June 15, 2006
BY MARK BROWN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Copyright byThe Chicago Sun Times
What did you think when you heard the news the other morning that President Bush was in Baghdad paying a surprise visit to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- such a surprise that even al-Maliki didn't know about it until five minutes before Bush walked into the room?
Maybe you thought, "Wow, that takes guts. Bush makes me proud to be an American."
Or perhaps, "Lord, save us from that cowboy."
Or maybe you got all bogged down debating whether or not it was disrespectful to the leader of a sovereign nation to show up unannounced on his doorstep.
Those are all legitimate reactions, but I didn't think about any of those things, not right away at least.
I was too busy thinking: Oh, man. I'll bet that al-Maliki guy is in hot water with his wife.
Do you know where I'm coming from here?
I mean, I don't know about you, but I gave up on the concept of surprise guests about 22 years ago, roughly the length of time I've been married.
It requires weeks of advance notice for me to get clearance for house guests, even longer if an overnight stay is contemplated. OK, that's partly because it takes nearly that long for me to clean the guest bedroom where I keep all my clothes and stuff, but don't let her fool you, it wouldn't be that much different if I kept it neat.
I'm not trying to start an argument with my wife. I can do that at home. I'm trying to start an argument between you and your wife. That's a lot easier on me.
When I was single, I lived spontaneously, inviting friends to drop by for dinner at a moment's notice, or at least that's the way I choose to remember it.
I'd make the tacos, even had my own secret guacamole recipe that I copied off the placemat of a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Muscatine, Iowa. Mmmm-mmm. And everybody loved my refried bean dip. My friends would bring the beer. Of course, I eat a little better now that my wife does the cooking and I don't have to dine alone quite as much, but that's beside the point.
The point, if you've forgotten, is whether Bush got al-Maliki in trouble with his wife.
Maybe she had plans. Maybe her book club was meeting. Maybe she intended to use that time to go to the gym. Maybe she would have liked a little advance notice so she could assign the palace staff to shake out the Persian rugs.
I don't know. I don't know why men can't just decide to invite somebody into their home without making a production of it. Nobody cares if the house is a little messy. OK, maybe they're a little creeped out if the dog just did his business in the living room, but that's when you hang out in the kitchen instead. Is that so unreasonable?
But this isn't about me. It's about the al-Malikis.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you Mrs. al-Maliki's reaction.
I've pored over the press pool reports from Bush's Baghdad trip, but there is no reference to her being present, and the elite media contingent that was allowed to join the president on his secret mission apparently never thought to ask.
I can't tell you for sure whether there even is a Mrs. al-Maliki, there having been no mention of the prime minister's family in the major Western press that I can find. I can only hope that I haven't said something that I'll have to apologize for later, which may be another reason my wife isn't wild about us having guests.
It turns out, in fact, that Bush's meeting with the Iraqi leader was at some former Saddam Hussein palace that we have commandeered for use as part of our embassy compound, so it wasn't even as if the president was really a guest, right? We practically own the place.
What did al-Maliki say?
My perusal of the press pool reports did uncover some noteworthy details.
As the president swept into the large, domed room in the center of the palace, al-Maliki was standing there waiting for him. "Good to see you," al-Maliki said. "Thanks for having me," responded Bush.
I sense tension there.
Later, after some time together behind closed doors, the leaders met the press again. When it was al-Maliki's turn to speak (Bush went first), he addressed the president in Arabic, but the translator was speaking so softly that the pool reporters were "unable to make out the initial pleasantries the prime minister directed at President Bush, who was listening in on headphones."
Back at Camp David, where top Bush administration officials were watching a grainy video feed of the meeting, another press pool reported that the sound was initially muted as al-Maliki spoke, but that Vice President Dick Cheney "gave a half-smile in the general direction of the pool as he listened to the translation."
See. That's the clue. They bleeped him out on purpose. The prime minister was really telling Bush:
"My wife sends her apologies, but she says that if you call ahead the next time, we'll have you over to our place, maybe even stuff a lamb
June 15, 2006
BY MARK BROWN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Copyright byThe Chicago Sun Times
What did you think when you heard the news the other morning that President Bush was in Baghdad paying a surprise visit to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- such a surprise that even al-Maliki didn't know about it until five minutes before Bush walked into the room?
Maybe you thought, "Wow, that takes guts. Bush makes me proud to be an American."
Or perhaps, "Lord, save us from that cowboy."
Or maybe you got all bogged down debating whether or not it was disrespectful to the leader of a sovereign nation to show up unannounced on his doorstep.
Those are all legitimate reactions, but I didn't think about any of those things, not right away at least.
I was too busy thinking: Oh, man. I'll bet that al-Maliki guy is in hot water with his wife.
Do you know where I'm coming from here?
I mean, I don't know about you, but I gave up on the concept of surprise guests about 22 years ago, roughly the length of time I've been married.
It requires weeks of advance notice for me to get clearance for house guests, even longer if an overnight stay is contemplated. OK, that's partly because it takes nearly that long for me to clean the guest bedroom where I keep all my clothes and stuff, but don't let her fool you, it wouldn't be that much different if I kept it neat.
I'm not trying to start an argument with my wife. I can do that at home. I'm trying to start an argument between you and your wife. That's a lot easier on me.
When I was single, I lived spontaneously, inviting friends to drop by for dinner at a moment's notice, or at least that's the way I choose to remember it.
I'd make the tacos, even had my own secret guacamole recipe that I copied off the placemat of a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Muscatine, Iowa. Mmmm-mmm. And everybody loved my refried bean dip. My friends would bring the beer. Of course, I eat a little better now that my wife does the cooking and I don't have to dine alone quite as much, but that's beside the point.
The point, if you've forgotten, is whether Bush got al-Maliki in trouble with his wife.
Maybe she had plans. Maybe her book club was meeting. Maybe she intended to use that time to go to the gym. Maybe she would have liked a little advance notice so she could assign the palace staff to shake out the Persian rugs.
I don't know. I don't know why men can't just decide to invite somebody into their home without making a production of it. Nobody cares if the house is a little messy. OK, maybe they're a little creeped out if the dog just did his business in the living room, but that's when you hang out in the kitchen instead. Is that so unreasonable?
But this isn't about me. It's about the al-Malikis.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you Mrs. al-Maliki's reaction.
I've pored over the press pool reports from Bush's Baghdad trip, but there is no reference to her being present, and the elite media contingent that was allowed to join the president on his secret mission apparently never thought to ask.
I can't tell you for sure whether there even is a Mrs. al-Maliki, there having been no mention of the prime minister's family in the major Western press that I can find. I can only hope that I haven't said something that I'll have to apologize for later, which may be another reason my wife isn't wild about us having guests.
It turns out, in fact, that Bush's meeting with the Iraqi leader was at some former Saddam Hussein palace that we have commandeered for use as part of our embassy compound, so it wasn't even as if the president was really a guest, right? We practically own the place.
What did al-Maliki say?
My perusal of the press pool reports did uncover some noteworthy details.
As the president swept into the large, domed room in the center of the palace, al-Maliki was standing there waiting for him. "Good to see you," al-Maliki said. "Thanks for having me," responded Bush.
I sense tension there.
Later, after some time together behind closed doors, the leaders met the press again. When it was al-Maliki's turn to speak (Bush went first), he addressed the president in Arabic, but the translator was speaking so softly that the pool reporters were "unable to make out the initial pleasantries the prime minister directed at President Bush, who was listening in on headphones."
Back at Camp David, where top Bush administration officials were watching a grainy video feed of the meeting, another press pool reported that the sound was initially muted as al-Maliki spoke, but that Vice President Dick Cheney "gave a half-smile in the general direction of the pool as he listened to the translation."
See. That's the clue. They bleeped him out on purpose. The prime minister was really telling Bush:
"My wife sends her apologies, but she says that if you call ahead the next time, we'll have you over to our place, maybe even stuff a lamb
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:26 AM
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