The Voice -- and Face -- of America

I read a news item somewhere, a few days ago, about some minor Imperial bureaucrat spouting off to some British Members of Parliament about the Iranians. Only later did I see this story, with a photo of the bureaucrat in question.

In the immortal words of Edwin Starr: Good Gawd, y'all!

Here's part of the account of what she / he / it had to say:

Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America's stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush's senior women officials: "I hate all Iranians."

And she also accused Britain of "dismantling" the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, made the comments this month.

The six MPs were taken aback by the hardline approach of the Pentagon and in particular Ms Cagan, one of Mr Bush's foreign policy advisers.

She made it clear that although the US had no plans to attack Iran, it did not rule out doing so if the Iranians ignored warnings not to develop a nuclear bomb.

It was her tone when they met her on September 11 that shocked them most.

The MPs say that at one point she said: "In any case, I hate all Iranians."

Although it was an aside, it was not out of keeping with her general demeanour.

"She seemed more keen on saying she didn't like Iranians than that the US had no plans to attack Iran," said one MP. "She did say there were no plans for an attack but the tone did not fit the words."

Another MP said: "I formed the impression that some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming."

Tory Stuart Graham, who was on the ten-day trip, would not discuss Ms Cagan but said: "It was very sobering to hear from the horse's mouth how the US sees the situation."

I wonder if the Right Honorable Mr. Graham might have mistaken which end of the horse's anatomy he was hearing from.

I'm also wondering something else. Remember how everyone was snickering at Iranian President Ahmadinejad last week when he supposedly said at Columbia that Iran "doesn't have homosexuals like you have them in your country?" Seeing Ms. Cagan's picture suggests that Mr. Ahmadinejad's remarks might have been mistranslated; perhaps he was really trying to say that Iran doesn't have "space aliens getting their freak on" like the ones we have here.

I can't explain it, but I can't help noticing it: there's something about the modern GOP and -- oh, I don't know, how shall I say it? -- the modern GOP and, ah, people with non-traditional lifestyles. Truly, not your father's Republican Party ... unless your father maybe had other unusual interests, too.