Rice/Straw vows were exchanged today in Baghdad with the sounds of automatic weapons and mortar fire as a backdrop
Baghdad, Iraq (APE) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British foreign Secretary Jack straw today stunned the world with a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday and a quick ceremony at an undisclosed location. Rice was sent reeling from a visit this weekend to Straw’s hometown of Blackburn during which she was consistently met with angry protesters. Rice’s visit to England and Straw’s family was a stark contrast to the warm reception Straw received when he visited Rice’s home state of Alabama last year. Well-wishers speculated that perhaps this might have weighed heavily in the couple’s elopement to Baghdad.
This was the first marriage for the Secretary of State and the second for the British foreign Secretary. Straw’s ex-wife Anthea Weston expressed shock at the turn of events and stated that she and straw’s two children had no idea this might happen. A spokesperson for the Bush administration stated that there would be officially no comment. President Bush is currently at his home in Crawford, TX, having returned from a meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Cancún, Mexico. The president reportedly has been very quiet about the news of the elopement and may reportedly stay for two more days in Crawford before returning to the White House.
The Rice/Straw union in Baghdad comes amidst a growing Civil War which many in America are reluctant to acknowledge. Critics have dismissed this as a “marriage of convenience” with a giving in to the passions of war. Others have stated that Rice and Straw were making a real attempt at arguing for a unified Iraq by example.
“The fact that we’re going out to have these discussions with the Iraqi leadership before leaving on our honeymoon is a sign of the urgency which we attach to a need for government of national unity,” Rice told reporters.
Straw said: “We’re committed to Iraq, just as I am committed to Condi, but we need to see consummation, and that is in everybody’s interest.”
“This is in many ways a time of testing and indeed virgin territory for the Iraqi nation and the Iraqi people. They need a strong government that can act on their behalf in this time of surrender,” said Rice.
The couple reportedly will be leaving for a working honeymoon in Darfur after concluding their attempts today in Baghdad to remove Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Dozens of Jaafari supporters took to the streets in Baghdad on Sunday, holding a mock wedding and flipping hundreds of garter belts labeled “Democracy”.
