Beyond Chutzpah posted by Richard Seymour

It must take balls of steel and a face of iron to be a US government spokesperson of any stripe.

Item: The US military has been involved in intense battles with Sadr supporters in Baghdad. And guess what:

The US military confirmed it had fought "anti-Iraqi forces" in eastern Baghdad.

Anti. Iraqi. Forces. You read that correctly.

Item: The United States is warning Nicaragua against a 'coup'.

Surely not these connoisseurs of revolution? Suffice to say, the 'coup' involved, the virtues and vices of which I make no comment on, is an attempt by some Liberal Party politicians to constitutionally evict the President. Coming from the government that funded, trained and directed death squads to rampage across Nicaragua and attack 'soft targets' (schools, medical clinics etc), eventually killing 30,000, this is a little too much to hear.

What next? US demands apology from Vietnam? France 'warns' Haiti against coup? Tony Blair rebukes opponents for dishonesty?