Worse than the Court of Selim the Sot

More disturbing thuds and screams from the Topkapi Palace:

President Bush Meets with Ambassador to Iraq Zal Khalilzad:

THE PRESIDENT: ...But, Mr. Ambassador, you represent our country with a lot of class and dignity. And so, thank you. You may want to say a few comments.

AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD: Thank you, Mr. President. I came today to also wish the President a happy birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. President. And it's an honor to serve the United States in Iraq. Under your leadership, we're working very hard to make sure Iraq succeeds because Iraq is the defining challenge of our time. And what happens in Iraq will shape the future of the Middle East, and the future of the Middle East will shape the future of the world.

So it's an honor to see you again. And happy birthday, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Thank you all.

Daniel Froomkin has more:

Meet the New Media Strategy: A Visit From the Ambassador: Deb Riechmann writes for the Associated Press about the Oval Office visit by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad.

Bush expressed concern Thursday that some of Iraq's neighbors might be working against the fledging Iraqi government. 'We, of course, are concerned that some in the neighborhood may want to derail the progress of a free Iraq,' Bush said. 'And that is troubling and something that we'll work on.'...

As a recent cable from Khalizad himself outlined, Iraq is plagued with all sorts of problems, including that conditions for women are becoming more and more abusive, there is no electrical power most of the day, and Iraqi security forces -- a group that is supposed to take charge as Americans step down -- are feared, not trusted.

Khalizad didn't get into any of that in public. Instead, over the course of his 35-second remarks, the ambassador wished Bush a happy birthday three times.

Pool reporter Pamela Hess, the United Press International Pentagon correspondent, wrote to the White House press corps: "No questions were taken, which was very sad for me because if you'd spent 5 months in Iraq, you'd have a few questions too." She added: "I lagged behind a little because I wanted to ask Dan Bartlett who some of the people were in the room and then POTUS himself yelled out 'LETSGOLETSGOLETSGO' not in a nice cheerleading way but in a 'get out of my Oval' way, and it startled me, so I didn't check what time it ended.