As bombings killed seven U.S. soldiers in Baghdad, the NPR reported that Key Leaders Leave Iraq
As if the U.S. wasn’t having enough problems getting the Iraqi parliament to move on key issues, like deciding on oil rights and revenues, the effort just got a lot harder. Two of Iraq’s top leaders are out of the country dealing with health problems.Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s largest Shia party, is undergoing cancer treatment in Iran. Al Jazeera reports that al-Hakim flew to the U.S. on Wednesday after a U.S.-run hospital in Baghdad “detected signs of cancer in one of his lungs.” The hospital he visited in Texas confirmed the preliminary diagnosis.
Al-Hakim began chemotherapy Sunday in Iran, rather than the U.S., because he wanted to be close to his family. This move also reflects his close ties to the regime there. He could be gone several months or longer, “thus robbing Iraq from a key political player who has been a major partner in US efforts to build a democratic system regardless of his ties to Iran,” Al Jazeera reports.
Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in the U.S. on Sunday, “tired and battling obesity,” according to the Gulf Daily News of Bahrain. Talabani’s office denied he had any health problems other than his obesity, which he plans to get help with in the U.S. In February, he went to Jordan for treatment of extreme exhaustion and dehydration.
Talabani is expected to be in the U.S. about three weeks
Back in February, Talabani flew to Jordan on a US military plane after collapsing. It was reported that the Iraqi leader suffered from extreme fatigue and dehydration. Given the lack of reaction to his decision to leave his war-torn country and head off for the Fat Farm – one must suspect that his health problems are more serious.
In related news: the emergency war spending bill Congress intends to pass this week and send to the White House only asks the President to report on how benchmarks for progress in Iraq are being met….
Let’s hope the answer isn’t: “TrimSpa, Baby.”
