While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Sept. 24 soapbox session at Columbia University sparked high-profile protests and a media feeding-frenzy, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's appearance that same day at a Shi'ite mosque in Queens went largely unnoticed—despite the fact that he runs a death-squad state and also aspires to Iran-style Shi'ite totalitarianism. Why is that? OK, here's a clue: The mosque where he appeared is named after and linked to the foundation established by a late imam of al-Maliki's tendency who was no more progressive (or "moderate") than Iran's reigning mullahs where rights for women, gays, secularists or Sunnis is concerned—but who happened to be on the CIA payroll. In other words, as FDR said of a particular Central American dictator, "our son of a bitch." While al-Maliki's visit did make the New York Times, it was only the Queens Times-Ledger which noted (without comment) his rather sinister comments at the affair (emphasis added):

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki paid a special visit to Queens Monday to celebrate the start of the holiest observance on the Muslim calendar.

Maliki stopped by at the Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Jamaica to break the fast during the first night of Ramadan, the month-long Muslim holiday that celebrates the month when God gave the prophet Mohammed the Quran. The prime minister joined in on the evening prayers and then broke the observed fast with more than 100 worshipers inside the mosques main prayer room.

After taking a tour of the center, which is the second-largest Shiite mosque in the nation, Maliki updated the worshipers on the state of his nation and its reconstruction plans. The prime minister said that Iraqs new government would not follow the same methods as Saddam Husseins regime because it would provide equal rights to all Iraqi citizens.

We will continue in our efforts so that the majority takes power and does not keep it to themselves, he said through a translator.

Need we elaborate on the ominous implications of telling an audience of Shi'ite congregants that he will assure "the majority takes power" in Iraq?

See our last post on Iraq.