Cheney Slips In

Vice President Dick Cheney paid an unannounced visit to Iraq. The trip was kept secret, as they say, for security reasons. A few weeks ago, Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad was welcomed by the Iraqis under somewhat different circumstances. Unlike Cheney, Mr. Ahmad-Nejad was treated to the customary pomp and circumstance associated with and befitting foreign dignitaries. Indeed, Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister and America's ally in the War on Terror, and Mr. Ahmad-Nejad, the titular leader of one of the triumvirate of the infamous axis of evil, embraced warmly in unabashed public displays of public friendship and affection. Cheney is not likely to be treated similarly.