Adnan Pachachi Speaks Up

Pre-Saddam foreign minister Adnan Pachachi, the State Department's uderperforming Iraqi prot?g?, objects that only a democratically elected government should be handing out the contracts to rebuild Iraq. Grain of salt: In a recent Financial Times essay on postwar Iraq, Pachachi speculated that it could be two years before such a democratic government could be elected, so the obvious question is who should be awarding contracts in the meantime. Still, the principle that the occupiers should not be making decisions about what longterm debts the new nation incurs is pretty sound. Which may amount to a hill of beans, since Pachachi has declined invitations to join in the next government.

Elsewhere, the Baltimore Sun drops in on Pachachi and some of the other exiles grousing that they weren't able to attend Tuesday's Ur conference. This raises a question: Is the door now open for any Iraqi who wants to return to Iraq? I really can't figure out why any of these exiles would still be sitting in London or Washington—except for the obvious Willy Sutton reason.