Mission Accomplished!

Bush was absolutely right the other day when he said:

 

"Should the foreign minister of Iran bump into Condi Rice, Condi won't  be rude; she's not a rude person. I'm sure she'll be polite,"  Bush said at a news conference after meeting with European Union leaders.

 

"She'll also be firm in reminding the representative of the Iranian  government that there's a better way forward for the Iranian people than  isolation," Bush said.

After reading this article I have no idea what (if anything) wasaccomplished, but she wasn't rude! And that's what counts.

But other evidence from the conference, and the Iraqi capital, suggested thatthe last 24 hours in America and Iran's severely frayed relationship have beenanything but straightforward. Iraqi officials present at Ms Rice's briefconversation with Mr Mottaki over lunch yesterday recounted the followingstrange diplomatic exchange:

“As-salama aleikum (peace be upon you),” Mr Mottaki is believed to havesaid.

“Hello,” replied Ms Rice. “Your English is better than my Arabic."

At which point the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, is said tohave joined in, encouraging the two countries to talk: “We want to warm theatmosphere some.”

To which Mr Mottaki replied: “In Russia, they eat ice cream in winterbecause it’s warmer than the weather," a somewhat obscure comment that MsRice is said to have agreed with.

Surely Bush's legacy willinclude the placement of the right people on the right positions.