Masud Barzani, on al-Hurra this weekend, said that Vice President Cheney’s trip to Iraqi Kurdistan proves that the U.S. does not believe that there is corruption or need for reform in Iraqi Kurdistan. Nothing could be further from the truth – Cheney’s meeting involved other subjects – but it is an indication of how regional autocrats use the U.S. embrace to claim unqualified U.S. support and therefore drive anti-Americanism.

Separately, Rozhnama newspaper has published a copy of a warning letter to all PUK members and bureaus, in which PUK Secretary General [and Iraqi President] Jalal Talabani threatens those members of his party who criticize PUK and KDP in media outlets with a “trial” at a “special tribunal.” While the Kurdistan Regional Government says it is a democracy and a model for the rest of Iraq, its actions suggest a different trajectory.