<html><body> <DIV>One cannot blame Maliki.  The Hadley memo and other leaks in the past few weeks demonstrate the unhappiness of US ruling circles with (and contempt for) the Maliki Government.  Fortunately for Maliki, it appears the US cannot come up with a viable candidate to play the role of the "strong man." otherwise his fate would surely be the same as  that of another client who proved to be unsatisfactory to US interests, South Vietnam's Diem. That client was murdered in a US sponsored coup in 1963.  SR</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> -------------- Original message -------------- From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood@panix.com> > New York Daily News - November 30, 2006 > > ANALYSIS > Maliki dinner-date snub > rubs salt in Prez wounds > > BY THOMAS DeFRANK > DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF > > WASHINGTON - There was a time when American clients wouldn't dare > snub a President of the United States. > "You never postpone something like this at the last minute unless > somebody's ripped," said a former top Bush aide, "and it's probably > Maliki." > > He could hardly be blamed after the blockbuster leak of a classified > White House memorandum that amounts to a rousing no-confidence > declaration by the Bush government. > > The dispassionate memo by national security adviser Stephen Hadley > suggests that Maliki is either a knave or a hapless lightweight. </BLOCKQUOTE></body></html>