Issa Might Regret Offering Imus His Home Phone Number

Rep. Darrell Issa recently became the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, but Imus knew him way back when. “They tell me you’re a lot harder to book now that you’ve ascended to this lofty position,” Imus said. In return, Issa offered his home phone number so that Imus could reach him anytime. Needless to say, Imus did not do the same.
 
Just back from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, Issa reported on the progress, or lack thereof, he witnessed in each country. In Afghanistan, he believes the U.S. has “dialed in the right solution” by approaching each province or area in its own unique way, but he noted rampant corruption still remains.
 
“You just had the brother of the President and Vice President raid $1 billion nearly from the Kabul Bank,” Issa said, adding, “Our partner is not necessarily a good partner.”
 
Similarly, in Pakistan, the U.S. is training Pakistanis to secure their communities, but at the same time they’re holding a U.S. diplomat in custody, in violation of international law.
 
Of all the places he visited, Iraq showed the most promise. “We really are standing up and leaving,” Issa said of U.S. forces. “By the end of the year, we’ll have only 157 officers and military personnel still there. There will obviously be a large embassy and a lot of civilian trainers, but we really are leaving with Iraq able to take care of itself in a democratic way for the first time in a generation.”
 
Afghanistan’s biggest problem, he thinks, is the lack of an honest government to properly exploit the country’s vast mineral wealth. Also, Afghanis are largely an illiterate people, which is another hindrance to development.
 
“We’re having to train their military by teaching them what button to push, teaching them how to drive, and literally, they can’t count, and they can’t read, and they can’t write,” Issa said. “That’s a fundamental problem of huge proportions in Afghanistan. It makes it a very long slog.”
 
The pace of progress in Egypt, however, remains to be seen, as protesters in Tahrir Square refuse to move from their position until their demand—that President Hosni Mubarak step down after 30 years—is met. But as Issa observed, Egypt has been on a good path lately. It’s just not good enough for a suffering people. 
 
“Most of them are not complaining about an absence of an election in the last couple of years,” Issa said. “They’re complaining that the growth they see in their economy, as good as it is, is still leaving them a very poor nation, and they see better on television.”
 
Egypt needs a team of people, in his opinion, dealing with the economy, diplomacy, and security. “Reestablishing a new parliament, a strong parliament, with a prime minister that really does run the government is something that needs to happen,” Issa added.
 
Also something that needs to happen: Issa getting over himself.
 
“Don’t go all Hollywood on us now,” Imus instructed his very important guest.
 
-Julie Kanfer