Counting Coup

Counting Coup - Charles Marion Russell

I can't hear about a coup d'etat without thinking of this Charles Marion Russell painting. I remember seeing a print of it on the wall of some greasy spoon restaurant in Oklahoma when I was a kid and it freaked me out. Following the recent events in Thailand, Lebanon and Iraq makes think of this painting and freaks me out a little. You know how I am with that Linda Hamilton in the Terminator vibe thing I've got going on.

Mehr News asks Is Iraq on the edge of a coup?

"TEHRAN, Nov. 25 (MNA) -- The terrorist bombings that killed more than 220 residents of Baghdad's Sadr City on Thursday have caused great concern among Iranians. The bloodshed happens at a time when U.S. forces are responsible for maintaining security in important areas of Iraq’s cities. The increasing insecurity and the focus of the terrorist attacks on the Shias show that there is an organized conspiracy against the Iraqi majority."

Bwa-ha-ha-ha. Paranoia will destroy ya. Get a load of this.

"The secret visit to Baghdad by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former secretary of state James A. Baker, who is currently the chairman of the Iraq Study Group, is part of the conspiracy."

And then there's this; Tariq Aziz, Saddam's old BFF (Best Friend Forever) is being released from prison and according to Mehr his release is all part of a plot to topple al-Maliki and put the Baathists back in the driver seat.
It's a fascinating little yarn - read it all.

Speaking of fascinating and of counting coup d'etats. The fascinating and dreamy John Bolton had this to say about Lebanon today:

"A few weeks ago, the White House took the unprecedented step of saying that Syria and Iran, acting through Hizbullah, were on the verge of staging a coup d'etat against the democratically-elected government, and I have to say that this assassination of Pierre Gemayel might well be the first shot in that coup," Bolton told the BBC.