Whenever Iyad `Allawi feels neglected by the media, he comes back with a new story of him meeting (or arranging meetings) with Iraqi resistance leaders. Just today, he made the claim. He said that they met in a "neighboring country." I have become kind of an expert on this former puppet Iraqi prime minister/Saddam's henchman/embezzler-in-Yemen/car bomber. So I will decipher his words for you. When he says he met with Iraqi resistance leaders, it only means that he met with tribal chiefs. Did you get that. He said that he arranged meetings with the Americans. A spokesperson of Kata'ib Thawrat Al-`Ishrin categorically denied to AlJazeera this story. A US military spokesperson in Iraq confirmed that US commanders met with "certain elements" in the insurgency. When he was asked by Jumanah Nammur of AlJazeera to be more specific, he elaborated: he said that they were "certain elements." Let me translate. Recently, US commanders met with, yes you guessed, tribal chiefs.