Dr. Frank's What's-it

Close but no bouquet? With

Close but no bouquet?

With all the customary disclaimers about never believing what you read, this is the first report I've seen of Iraqis welcoming US soldiers that actually mentions the proverbial flowers. (And this is Reuters after all.) Or rather, it mentions one: "a girl in a blue vest held out a pink flower to a passing U.S. soldier." "Cheering Iraqis handed out soft drinks and cigarettes," too.

"It sure beats having to shoot them," said one Marine...

[One Iraqi man] pulled out a large bankroll, pointed at the picture of Saddam that graces each Iraqi banknote and drew his finger across his throat with a smile.

"People are very happy now. We couldn't speak before because the Baath Party would kill them. Now everything is OK," Ali said. He said the first thing he wanted any new government to change was the banknotes.

"Will we have new money or will we have dollars?" he asked.