The little confab in Baghdad

You will soon see why the headline is so vague. Did any journalists actually attend? Just asking. First headline and a snippet.

Accusations fly at Iraq conference

The United States and Iran traded blame for the violence engulfing Iraq at a conference of Iraq's neighbors Saturday that was hailed as a first step toward resolving the building tensions between the decades-old rivals.

Seated near opposite ends of a large rectangular table, the U.S. and Iranian envoys exchanged accusations of kidnapping, arms smuggling and inciting violence, tempering hopes of an imminent thaw in their relationship.

Though they talked for nearly eight hours, the delegates from 13 nations and three organizations failed to reach agreement on the main item on the agenda: setting a time and a place for their next meeting, to be held at the ministerial level.

Just as the envoys were about to break for lunch, two mortars exploded beside the Foreign Ministry building where the conference was taking place, underscoring the dangers inherent in holding any kind of high-level gathering in Baghdad.

Then we have this.

US envoy says talks with Iran, Syria 'businesslike'

he US ambassador to Iraq says Saturday's conference with Iran and Syria on Iraqi security was businesslike and constructive.

Zalmay Khalilzad spoke with reporters by conference call from Baghdad after meeting with representatives of Iran and Syria about helping pacify their neighbor, Iraq.

"The overall mood was businesslike, constructive exchanges, nobody was pounding the table, the exchanges were quite, I would say, ordinary and there was a frank and sometimes even jovial exchanges," he said after the meeting in the US Green Zone in Baghdad.

Why yes, I've attended many business meetings where we exchanged accusations of kidnapping and inciting violence. Who hasn't?

Then we come to this one.

Iraq says Baghdad conference a success

Iraq signalled that world powers and neighbouring countries, including Washington and its adversaries Iran and Syria, had agreed in Baghdad it was vital to all to stop sectarian violence spreading in the region.

Well, maybe it was a success after all.

Just tell me something, do bloggers get it much more wrong than these clowns? Just asking.