There are two ways to interprete this:
Tens of thousands of protesters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric, took to the streets of the holy city of Najaf on Monday in an extraordinarily disciplined rally to demand an end to the American military presence in Iraq, burning American flags and chanting “Death to America!�
The first interpretation is the most obvious one: Iraqis want the U.S. out of Iraq ASAP. Not a good thing: they want their particular sect to take over.
The second possible interpretation requires a bit more… creativity. Editor and Publisher notes that White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe tried to ‘explain’ to reporters that the mass protests in Iraq lately are signs of “great progress.”
No kidding:
Four years since the fall of Baghad, Iraq “is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions, and that was something they could not do under Saddam.” Johndrove said, traveling with President Bush to Arizona.
As The Carpetbagger Report comments, “it must be great to be part of the Bush team, knowing that you’re right, no matter how wrong.”
I have to admit that I had a good laugh when I read the article at Editor and Publisher. It is what I expected of the White House. They become a bit predictable.
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