Pelosi jetted in to Baghdad Saturday for a photo-op with al-Maliki, but she didn't exactly receive a warm welcome from the Iraqis.Prime Minister al-Maliki didn't make much of an effort to greet her.
The lack of popularity of Pelosi's views was evident in the fact that her first day on the ground Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not make an effort to see her. Maliki is currently in the northern city of Mosul overseeing a crackdown on insurgent networks there. But the city has been largely quiet in recent days, and there was no obvious pressing reason for the prime minister to skip Pelosi's arrival.
Some observers don't expect US military leaders to give her a warm welcome when she meets with them.
Pelosi may not get much more warmth from the American military leaders she plans to meet either. Pelosi argued against sending additional surge forces to Iraq, a plan overseen by Gen. David Petraeus that is now widely credited with reducing the levels of violence in Iraq. Moreover, Pelosi made waves on Capitol Hill in November by saying U.S. troops were torturing detainees - an accusation generally not taken well by men and women in uniform of any rank.
The average Iraqi doesn't think much of Pelosi, either.
Pelosi is something of a nonentity to average Iraqis. If they know who she is at all, she is generally seen as an antiwar caricature figure, someone whose views on U.S. troop withdrawals are widely considered unrealistic.
From this report, it appears the speaker of the Iraqi parliament, al-Mashhadani, lectured Pelosi about premature troop withrawals.
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Looks like the Iraqis have correctly sized Pelosi up as a gutless wonder. If they have been paying attention they know Pelosi worked to undermine the US effort in Iraq, she demeaned the Iraqi government, and she called the surge a failure. The cold shoulder was the least they could do. (photo Iraqi Government - AP)
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Hat tip: Gateway Pundit
