The real reason the U.S. invaded Iraq?
A giant sign, copying the U.S. food chain McDonald's, is displayed prominently at a restaurant in Sulaimaniyah on Saturday March 13, 2004 in northern Iraq
Golden Arches With a Twist: Iraqi Burger Joint
Rogue Opportunist Serves Big Macs at 'MaDonalds'
By TERRY McCARTHY
SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq Aug. 16, 2006 — - A Big Mac in Iraq?
Who would have thought?
On a recent trip to Sulaymaniyah, one of the main cities in
Kurdistan in northern Iraq, everyone told us we had to visit the
local McDonald's.
We had come up from Baghdad, where no foreigner would dream of going
out to a restaurant because of the danger.
Kurdistan, however, is relatively safe and free of kidnappings and
bombings. Americans also are very popular -- the U.S. Air Force
helped keep Saddam Hussein out of Kurdistan in 1991 with the no-fly
zone, and Kurds haven't forgotten that.
But McDonald's? Seemed odd.
From the car, we could see the familiar red banner with the golden
arches, but when we walked in, we could see the wording -- "MaDonalds,"
the art of the creative typo.
If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then the folks at
McDonald's headquarters in the United States should be very proud.
Flipping Burgers
Suleiman Qasab, the owner of the fast-food restaurant, is certainly
very proud.
He sells an average of 1,000 burgers a day, at $1.25 each. That's
good business in a country where $300 a month is not a bad salary.
As it happened, Suleiman was checking on the restaurant while we
were there.
Already in his 60s, he is a comfortably fed man with a constant
smile and a roguish opportunist's instinct.
He spent many years living in exile in Sweden, where he picked up
the habit of chewing tobacco, but came back to his native Kurdistan
after Saddam's fall.
"I tried to get McDonald's permission, but they said that they don't
want to enter Iraq because there is no democracy," he said.
"So I started this project on my own."
He imported some kitchen equipment, changed one letter in the logo,
and opened for business.
Suleiman is unabashedly pro-American.
He says President Bush is his brother. In the window of the
restaurant is a picture of the U.S. president superimposed on a
football referee's figure, sending off a player with Saddam's face.
He even hosted Paul Bremer, the former chief U.S. administrator of
Iraq, when he made a visit to Sulaymaniyah.
Suleiman says Bremer sternly warned him that he risked infringing a
copyrighted brand, but the restaurant owner was not fazed.
He told Bremer that the day the United States captured Osama bin
Laden, he would take down the golden arches sign.
He says that he still hopes that when McDonald's enters Iraq, he
will be the first one to work with the company.
Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures
source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/print?id=2319431
