The Dark Lord in Baghdad

McClatchy might want this headline to sound snarky. [I hope so.]

Cheney cites 'phenomenal' Iraqi security progress as bombing kills 40
BAGHDAD — Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday made a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he pledged that U.S. forces would "not quit before the job is done" and said that a massive troop buildup had achieved "phenomenal" improvements in security.

At sunset Monday, however, a female suicide bomber killed at least 40 people and injured more than 50 when she blew herself up in a crowded pedestrian area near a Shiite Muslim shrine in the southern holy city of Karbala, according to government and hospital officials. Among the victims were several Iranian pilgrims who'd come to worship at the Imam Hussein shrine, one of Islam's most sacred sites.
...
Cheney intended to press Iraqi leaders to pass an oil law that could help persuade international energy firms to invest in production, U.S. officials said. He also was urging Iraqis to stick to their goal of October elections and discussing mutual concerns about neighboring countries such as Turkey, Syria and Iran.

[Emphasis mine - this oil-sharing agreement is at least, if not more... or entirely, about enabling foreign investors to get rich on Iraqi oil as it is about achieving a working agreement among Iraqi factions to share oil income.]

h/t to David Kurtz at TPM

And thanks to Joe Sudbay at Americablog for pointing us to this video once again:


--the BB