Where's the New Boss?

The Director General of Iraq's oil ministry provides some historical perspective:

However, he lamented the whole US approach to dealing with post-war Iraq. "We have a lot of experience with coups d'etat and this one is the worst," he said. "Any colonel in the Iraqi army will tell you that when he does a coup he goes to the broadcasting station with five announcements.

"The first one is long live this, down with that. The second one is your new government is this and that. The third is the list of the people to go on retirement. The fourth one, every other official is to report back to work tomorrow morning. The fifth is the curfew."

This is usually done within one hour, he added. "Now we are waiting more than a week and still we hear nothing from them."

Link courtesy Drudge.

Comments

[geophile]

Eh, could that have something to do with the fact that Iraqi tv is out?

I suppose they could go on general broadcast satellite, but who would know to watch? You want GWB to go on al Jazeera or something?

[frank]

If they had so much experience with coups d'etat...how did Saddam remain in power since 1979?

[tim]

Lighten up, Francis. The Director General is showing up for work and he's entitled to be a wiseacre. If anything, this sort of satirical outlook on government and its promises is something we should welcome.

[andrew]

It will be interesting (thrilling) to see the heads-up Mullahs vs. Arab-American TV...coming soon.
The Ayatollah-types have never had to cut in a real debate-- only feast on the carcasses of discredited regimes, amid turmoil. Personally, I don't fancy their chances.

[frank]

Tim: can't I have a little fun, too? It was a yoke!

[Anonymous]

This is Hit & Run, not bumper cars. GWII is all about bringing the pain and keepin'em gaussin'.

[Mark]

Wasn't part of the point of this war to replace the tyrannical government, not just graft a new head onto it? The oil ministry (and the street cops) may be the exception, but the US govt probably wants the vast bulk of the Saddam govt to NOT 'report back to work.'

[dragoon]

By being better at it than anyone else. All the torturers and other instruments of state terror now being waved in our face by the government and media weren't there just for sadism, but to keep everyone scared and in line. Hard to organize a coup when one wrong member gets you and your family dead, except for the guy who squealed.

My favorite tactic was the night raids, where you'd have people run into a barracks and start yelling "Quick, we're overthrowing Saddam! There's a coup attempt! Join us!" Of course, there was no rebellion. And if you didn't get that, and actually showed support... oops.