From the San Jose Mercury News article, Larry Diamond is a former senior adviser to the coalition government in Iraq and a current fellow at the Hoover Institution:
The coalition government relied heavily on a revolving door of diplomats and other personnel who would leave just as they had begun to develop local knowledge and ties, and on a large cadre of eager young neophytes whose brashness often gave offense in a very age- and status-conscious society. One young political appointee (a 24-year-old Ivy League graduate) argued that Iraq should not enshrine judicial review in its constitution because it might lead to the legalization of abortion. A much more senior Iraqi interlocutor (a widely experienced Iraqi-American lawyer) became so exasperated with the young man's audacity that he finally challenged him:
"You must have thoroughly studied the history of the British occupation of Iraq."
"Yes, I did," the young American replied proudly. "I thought so," said the Iraqi, "because you seem determined to repeat every one of their mistakes."
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