| Submit your comments on this article |
| International |
| Powell: Coalition ’will select Iraqi leaders’ |
| 2003-04-11 |
| Edited for the money quote: US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the United States and its coalition partners will select leaders for a new interim Iraqi authority. Mr Powell said the US was "not unmindful" of the international community's work regarding humanitarian aid for Iraq. But he said coalition countries had invested more in the Iraqi conflict and had the right to take a leading role in the building a new authority. "The international community will have a role to play," Mr Powell said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "But... we believe that the coalition, having invested this political capital and life and treasure into this enterprise, are going to have a leading role for some time as we shape this process," he said. Mr Powell also said that the US and its coalition partners would not be willing to hand over political authority to the UN once Saddam Hussein's regime had been removed. "The suggestion... that now that the coalition has done all of this and liberated Iraq, thank you very much, step aside and the Security Council is now going to become responsible for everything, is incorrect," he said. "And they know it. And they were told it." Ouch, all the way in to the hilt, and twist! |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #17 Thanks guys! The outburst of pedantry resulted from an excess of spare time on a Friday night and Bulldog's earlier account of his confusion when he first encounterd the American expression "bum's rush." (Ask him about the different meanings of "knocked up" sometime.) Sometimes I feel our international readers may think we're talking in code! ;-) |
| Posted by: Old Grouch 2003-04-12 16:40:19 |
| #16 Old Grouch---Could not have explained AFR better myself. Alaska Paul, a.k.a. Pappa Pasha |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-12 00:03:35 |
| #15 Old Grouch -- better clear something up about my name on this board. I'm American, majored in Russian in college, hence the name. I'll just change it now to "Baba Yaga". ;) Thanks for the detailed explanation, though. I liked the first example, especially the "partying until dawn the night before and showing up drunk." Not that I've EVER done that. No. Never. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga (ex-Former Russian Major) 2003-04-11 22:50:23 |
| #14 Former Russian Major: A.F.R. abbrev. "All F***ing Right" intensified version of American idiom "All Right!" Usage: "All Right!" is an often spontaneous expression of pleasure and approval of an outcome or achievement, usually external to the speaker. "All Right" goes beyond approval of correctness or favorable outcome to imply that the result was achived by overcoming obstacles (internal or external), or despite the sacrifice of "doing what's right" as opposed to "what's convenient" or "what's popular." Also may include an appreciation of achievement against odds. Examples: 1. Your high score on an exam would probably not rate an "All Right!" from your friends unless it followed long, dedicated effort to learn the material or happened despite partying until dawn the night before and showing up drunk. 2. In (American) football, when an interception by the defense on the last play of the game results in a touchdown that turns a loss into a win. Alaska Paul's use of "A.F.R." here expresses it all: Approval, Pleasure, feelings of Obstacles Overcome, admiration for Doing the Right Thing Despite Political Advantage, etc... |
| Posted by: Old Grouch 2003-04-11 22:13:11 |
| #13 Oh, yeah! |
| Posted by: michael 2003-04-11 21:12:45 |
| #12 He should have said of course we'll be delighted to have the UN help, once they've proved they could handle it by improving Kosovo. Until then, no dice. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-11 20:05:36 |
| #11 Fred - the only thing I can think of is Colin has read Rantburg, rejected State Dept Euroweenie advice and adopted our wisdom. Inshallah! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-11 17:42:45 |
| #10 Alaska Paul -- I just have to ask, what's A.F.R.? Ok, just the first letter and the last one, I think I know what the middle one stands for. ;) |
| Posted by: Former Russian Major 2003-04-11 16:43:35 |
| #9 I haven't been a big fan of Colin Powell's before, but this makes up for all the slick-willie acting he did before. I'm glad he's finally taken off the silk gloves, and slapped on a pair of leather work gloves. He has some house-cleaning to do in his own department, but I think that will be easier now that he's proven to both President Bush and the American people he has THIS nation's interests at heart. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-11 15:42:13 |
| #8 I love it - Powell took the knife out of his back and put it into the guts of the Axis of Weasel. A BRAVO performance by Colin Powell -- especially that last part! |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-04-11 15:16:09 |
| #7 A.F.R! How Rantburgian! I have been waiting for a right-to-the-point-no-holds-barred statement like that for a long time. Time to ULULATE! Yee hah! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-11 14:41:11 |
| #6 I love a fine, distilled commentary myself... |
| Posted by: Raj 2003-04-11 14:04:01 |
| #5 Damn, I love it! You don't need a magnifying glass to read between those lines. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-11 13:33:54 |
| #4 de Villepin, Fischer and Ivanov just lost their best, maybe, only friend in this administration. |
| Posted by: Former Russian Major 2003-04-11 13:20:58 |
| #3 Cheeze. Powell's comments to the UN read like your comments here, Frank. Or maybe Steve's. Or maybe most of us, distilled... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-04-11 13:20:42 |
| #2 Ah, and soon France and Belgium will be one...just like the sappy U2 song. Good-luck children. |
| Posted by: defscribe 2003-04-11 13:17:20 |
| #1 Colin's baaacccckkkkk |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-11 13:16:04 |