At no time did I claim that Talabani referred to the cost of the war. The part I tried to attribute to Talabani was a direct quote (though the quote marks changed to asterisks).

He said: Iraqis "wonder in amazement what the debate abroad is about". This particular statement pissed me off. He seemed to be glossing over our sacrifice in dollars and lives. Glossing over it in a way that implies he feels entitled to our sacrifice. If you do not feel (along with Talabani) that huge sums of cash and American lives are a valid starting point for debate, then you and I are on very different pages.