First read on elections, and 'Zany' Zinni

"Here's my first take on the provincial elections. I'll write-up a more detailed analysis once the initial results come out.

But there's one thing that's happened that speaks to the new Obama administration's understanding of Iraq, and that would be the farce-like pick of retired General Anthony Zinni for the job of U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

Zinni was told he had the job. Then he was snubbed. And later he was told he wouldn't be getting it; the White House had settled on Christopher Hill, a veteran diplomat with very little background on the Middle East.

The real scandal is that Zinni was being seriously considered for the job in the first place. One wouldn't expect him to have too many brownie points with the current Iraqi political class, having ridiculed and fought them hard in the days when they were still the Iraqi opposition. He was dead set against any serious attempts to bring down the Saddam regime.

Who in their right minds would have thought that Zinni would be a good fit for Baghdad?"
Talisman Gate