Iraq's 74-year-old President Jalal Talabani, pictured in 2006, has been evacuated to Jordan for medical tests after falling ill because of the pressure of recent work, his office said.(AFP/Pool/File/Ali Haidar)
Posted on 02/25/2007 11:22:55 AM PST by NormsRevenge
BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani is ill and has flown to neighboring Jordan for medical treatment, his office said Sunday, adding there was "no cause for worry."
The brief statement said only that the 73-year-old Talabani had fallen ill because of "continuing hard work over the past few days."
Talabani, a Kurd, appeared in public Saturday in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah where he met with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Massoud Barzani, leader of the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
In Sulaimaniyah, senior Kurdish politician Barham Saleh said Talabani was on his feet when he headed for a meeting Sunday with top aides shortly before he left for Jordan.
Saleh, a deputy prime minister, said members of Talabani's immediate family accompanied him to Amman.
Iraq's 74-year-old President Jalal Talabani, pictured in 2006, has been evacuated to Jordan for medical tests after falling ill because of the pressure of recent work, his office said.(AFP/Pool/File/Ali Haidar)
* The kind that sets off a Geiger counter.
High blood pressure? (He's 74 and is a bit hefty).
The best laid plans of mice and men ....
Maybe he's meeting with the VP?
I was thinking the same thing (offhand... and with a tinfoil hat). Dunno...
Anyway I wish him good health and a speedy recovery.
So if buddy dies, all hell breaks lose?
As Jedi says, he is rather hefty, and, I would add - well on in years.
I think that there is something more than is being said in this news item. Either, he is getting away from Iraq, at the moment, to distance himself from events in Baghdad. Or he has fallen out with the Maliki government. Or he is very, very ill.
If he dies, there will be significant problems, because it will cause infighting among the Kurds. It is not clear who would replace him, and his lifetime rival, Barzani, is waiting to pounce.
I agree, there's more to the story. For one thing, why wasn't he treated in-country at an American facility?
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