"Poodle they say is going to take on Bush."
"What ever for? I mean the guy opened himself to world-wide ridicule, not once but repeatedly, by doing exactly what Bush and his band of merry neo-conservatives wanted him to. So why and for what in the world would he want to stand up to Bush at this point in time? Unless Bush is going against the Iranians and won't take no for an answer as there are not many in favour of that war. I hear even Cook Islands have said they won't go against the Iranians."
"The Americans are going against the Iranians only verbally at this stage. They are saying the new Iranian President is a terrorist because he was present at the scene when American hostages were taken at the US Embassy in Tehran at the start of their revolution. But I thought the whole of Tehran was present at that scene."
"Besides, was that declared a terrorist act? I was under the impression that the Iranians have neither tried those involved in the hostage taking nor, indeed, consider it a terrorist act. In contrast they regard it as an act that got rid of American interference in their internal affairs. And lets be honest US policy in Iran under the Shah was a tad anti-democracy."
"Hmmm. Sounds like that kind of policy is continuing notwithstanding neo-conservative rhetoric."
"Ah, there you maybe wrong. There are those who argue there has been a change in the Bush administration's treatment of die-hard neo-conservatives. Wolfowitz is out as is John Bolton and then..."
"One of the few doves, namely, Powell in the Bush camp is out too. Ms Rice is hardly any less neo-conservative than the others. And then there is Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld and my God I can go on and on."
"OK, so maybe I was wrong. But I do feel that the Bush camp is now talking of co-operation instead of confrontation and..."
"Where are they saying that? Recently they even put two senior Syrian officials on their terrorist list and froze their accounts in the US..."
"That's a good thing. A lot of Muslim money, read Arab money, is now finding its way into Muslim countries unlike before. So perhaps this may strengthen the Muslim capital markets..."
"Well, you have to be sure that the next man into the White House will also be a supporter of Bush policies. 'Cause if he is, our Muslim brethren may continue to work together a little bit more than they have done to date. But then it may take more than three or four decades of US misrule of the world for the world in general and the Muslim world in particular to act."
"Yeah that's true."
"Anyway Blair is taking on the US on global warming."
"And Bush will care about that!"
"I doubt it but there you go, Poodle's minions are getting so concerned about possible repercussions if Poodle goes ahead and takes on Uncle Sam on any issue."
"Don't think he has the guts, to be honest."
"And then again maybe he has already apologised to Bush and the master has agreed to let him off the hook on this one."