Condi's latest "surprise" visit to Iraq backfired. How much more damage can she do over there?":
A top adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Wednesday that the visit this week by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain had backfired, prolonging a deadlock over a new government and strengthening Mr. Jaafari's resolve to keep his post.Well, she finally got the Iraqis to agree on something. Unfortunately, they all agree that her trip was a disaster.
"Pressure from outside is not helping to speed up any solution," said the adviser, Haider al-Abadi. "All it's doing is hardening the position of people who are supporting Jaafari."
He added, "They shouldn't have come to Baghdad."
His comments were echoed by several political leaders on Wednesday, including Kurds and Sunni Arabs.
