There is a passage in Paul Bremer's account on selecting the Iraqi puppet Prime Minister. They interviewed Husayn Shahrastani for the job, but since he was not enthusiastic about the American occupation, he was excluded. So Bush (in a phone conversation with Bremer), explains the US criterion for selecting a Prime Minister: "It's important to have someone who's willing to stand up and thank the American people for their sacrifice in liberating Iraq..."(p. 359) So when Kanan Makiya wrote one article after another in US newspapers with the title of "thank you America"--claiming to speak on behalf of Iraqis mind you--was he hoping to be selected as puppet prime minister?