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August 23, 2005
Telling Jokes from Iraq
Michael Rubin, the AEI scholar, has a great eye for detail—and a good ear for jokes. Humor can reveal a lot more about the mood of Baghdad than say, ABC News. Here are two telling jokes that he recently heard in Iraq.
- A Japanese, American, and Iraqi are killed by a roadside bomb and go to hell. After several days in hell, each expresses a desire to call home. Satan gives the Japanese a phone. He calls Japan and talks to his family for five minutes. After the call, he is given a bill for $5 million. "Why so large?" he asks. Satan responds, "Well, Japan is a long way from hell." The American then calls home and speaks for ten minutes. His bill? $10 million. Last, the Iraqi asks to call home. After several tries, he finally gets a line. He speaks to his friends and family for an hour and a half. His bill? $2. "Why only two dollars?" he asks. "For Iraq we only need a local line," Satan responds.
- Ibrahim Jaafari goes to his office on his first day as Prime Minister. He walks into his office, and sees a rooster, a dog, and a donkey. "Why are you here?" he asks the rooster. "There is so much work to be done in Iraq, that my job is to wake you early so you have enough time to do it," the rooster responds. "What about you?" he asks the dog. "Security is a huge problem in Iraq. My job is to make sure you are protected from terrorists." "And you?" he asks the donkey? "I don't know," the donkey responds. "They dumped me in this office, the same as you."
Posted by Richard Miniter at August 23, 2005 06:09 PM