Champs

Everybody loves an underdog - and the regular, hardworking people of Iraq definitely feel like the odds are against them right now. All the sweeter that Iraq came out on top today at the Asia Cup- the huge soccer tournament in Indonesia. We gathered in the Embassy today to watch the action- I cut short my weekly staff meeting- and everybody pulled for the Iraqi team as they were able to outlast the Saudis 1-0. It was no easy feat to even get to the finals, knocking off Vietnam and South Korea before meeting Saudi Arabia - who had defeated Japan in an upset. There is a lot of rivalry between Iraq and Saudi Arabia - and the current political situation (and the fact that many Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are believed to be Saudis) certainly made for a lot of backstory drama. So when Iraqi families came out this evening to fire off their AK-47s into the sky, we all felt that a little celebration was justified. This summer we've all been looking for things to cheer about- and today the little guys came out on top.