On July 31st, the New York Times reported that Colin Powell was "incensed" after an Iraqi journalist dared to ask him "a" question (the NYT did not bother to print the question, Angry Arab will):
"QUESTION: (in Arabic) Mr. Powell, what's happening in Iraq and what the Iraqi people are subject to is between a rock and the hard place. The rock is the occupation the hard place is the resistance. Now, we are Islamic people. The Islamic religion imposes on the people to fight, to kick out the occupiers. Hundreds of Iraqis are dying. The choice is before you: either all of those resistance people, who are hundreds of thousands, should all be killed, or you withdraw from Iraq and Islamic and international forces would replace you.
Second point, what is happening in Fallujah and Ramadi and other Islamic towns what you call them terrorists, I have visited them myself and I found them that they are the actual residents of the city. They were civilians in the past, they were not terrorists in the past but now they are living their life afraid of the U.S. forces going inside to raid in random ways. That is why they are siding with the resistance and they are not terrorists as you described them. They are subject to air raids, random killing without any evidence except some intelligence information that could be wrong. Thank you, sir.
SECRETARY POWELL: I did not hear a specific question, but I will just answer this way. The United States and its Coalition partners have done everything we can do in recent months to turn sovereignty and responsibility over to the Interim Government, and to put the increasing burden for security on Iraq's security forces—police, army as it is built up, national guard, intervention and other sorts of forces—so that the Iraqi people can protect themselves. The United States does not wish to be an occupying authority. The United States wishes to help the sovereign government of Iraq protect its people and build a better future for its people. But, to say that this somehow, in some how, in some way, permits or endorses the kinds of actions that we have seen with bombs going off, killing innocent people. It is the Iraqis who are now in charge of their country. We are here as guests of your country to help you until such a time as you can provide for your own security."

P.S. Does anyone out there allow armed "guests" into his/her house?