Friday, October 06, 2006

Your Wish is My Command

This picture released by the US Department of State shows US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice being greeted by US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmai Khalilzad after arriving in Baghdad. Rice has met the leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, urging them to cooperate with Iraqi Arabs in building a peaceful and unified country.(AFP/HO)
I've been terribly remiss by not posting this lovely picture of the Condibot arriving in Baghdad yesterday. Luckily, approximately 1 million people emailed me to remind me to do so.

But... did you see the video footage on the news? It was soooo much better than the disappointing photo above. Condi comes into view from the airline, pauses a moment for the cameras, walks down the steps, and then RUNS, literally races, into Khalilzad's waiting arms. Oh, it was good.

And, yes, things are going so swimmingly in Iraq that Dr. Ferragamo's plane had to circle for an entire hour before landing, and Condi had to don an unfashionable bullet-proof vest for those fleeting seconds it took her to disembark. Um, whatever.

So this has been another Conditravel whirlwind. She's been in at least four countries in as many days, and that leaves how much time for serious negotiations? Um, right. Actually, my coworker David has a better theory, that all this travelling has nothing to do with her supposed job, and everything to do with racking up the frequent flier miles for her post-administration career.

Hey, that's more plausible than the idea of anybody actually thinking of her as an effective diplomat.

EDIT: To clarify, the vest Condi's wearing seems to have been provided specifically for her difficult, perilous journey from the top of the airplane's stairway to the bottom, and then for her equally dangerous sprint into the ambassador's grip. We're talking a distance of about 50 feet. Hooray for success in Iraq!

UPDATE: Also, her little photo-op trip to Iraq seems to have torpedoed today's planned UN Iran negotiations. Way to go, Condi!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why is Madam Secretary wearing a flak jacket and Mr Ambassador apparently is not? (or at least for visual/diplomatic effects he should be displaying a visible protective device -- and I don't mean a condom).

Condi's handlers must have been irritated by that one. He's the tough guy in the pix, she's not.

isabelita said...

Oh, gosh, I thought she was wearing her seat cushion!

Lulu Maude said...

No wonder she ran into Khalilzad's waiting arms. She wanted to use him as a shield.

Alicia Morgan said...

All of you have it wrong. It's not a flak jacket; it's an apron! She was obviously trying to impress Khalizad with her womanly accomplishments!

Anonymous said...

The whole flak jacket/helmet thing worked so well for Christianne Ammanpour. What a shame that it doesn't send the desired message when worn by the condibot.

Anonymous said...

Aww man, where do we get video from?! I'd love a video flak jacket Condi-stravaganza...

Anonymous said...

Friends:

Can't help but think: the next Kondifashsionstatement: flak jackets...

Maybe the extra-thin/self-starving models on Euro fashion board walks can have the flak thingy over their breasts as the next way to be Kondi-kool...

US high-school Fox-controlled kids will think it's kool to be flak-Kondi-like.

Women with flak jackets: all kinds of kave-age konnotations: no need to draw a picture.

Meanwhile, as Kondi does her flak-fashion thing, our troops die in Iraq, Afghanistan is a mess, North Korea wants to blow us up, Al Qaeda (whatever that is) wants to...and Europe thinks we are a krew from Star-Trek, coming from another universe.

Time for a gin and tonic.

Princess you are a genius for bringing a bit of humor into our Bushevik/Kondi-manipulated lives.

Thank you.

pissed off patricia said...

I'm guessing that thing she's wearing can also be used as a floatation device as well. Kind of like a Swiss Army Knife, it has many uses. Why was it important to just protect her boobs? Her head and the rest of her body were unprotected. Is that the only part of her that's worth keeping? Ya have to wonder.

I think the plane was delayed because the wind was blowing at the airport and they didn't want her hair to get mussed as she ran into his strong arms.

Unknown said...

Ah..fuckwits on parade..I love it.