it's a free country

[jfb]

Kurdish Iraq, that is. From the New York Times:

In one testy exchange this month, the head of the Iranian intelligence office in the eastern city of Sulaimaniya visited a deputy of Jamal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union, to register a complaint. The Iranian official protested Kurdish cooperation with the C.I.A., according to a Kurdish official familiar with the exchange. "He said, `Why have you invited them here? We should not have these Americans in the region,' " the official said.

"He was told, `This is a free society. We need them here, and we like them here. We are free to invite anyone's assistance as we choose.' "