Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki held a rare press conference today in his home, which used to be one of Saddam Hussein's 50 or so palaces. It was fancy and plush -- a stark contrast to the broken down and barren Iraq that I see every day. There were massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, vines crawling up the walls, and rows of huge armchairs for media members to sit in.

I was the only Western reporter there, which I thought was weird. Besides feeling out of place (a feeling I've gotten used to), I also wondered where everyone else was. There were plenty of Iraqi reporters, but I wondered why Western media weren't there to ask Iraq's most powerful (official) political figure a few questions, especially in light of the building controversy over Iran. I thought that some of the Iraqi journalists may have been sent by Western news agencies, but none of them asked questions that indicated they were. The press conference was broadcasted on Iraqi TV this afternoon, so I wouldn't be surprised if Maliki's comments make the wires... but it's unfortunate there weren't any other Western reporters to ask questions.

I sat next to one of our Iraqi journalists, Hussein, who quietly translated parts of the press conference. Unfortunately, Hussein apparently lacks to ability to whisper (something he told me afterward), so I had to keep on asking him to keep his voice down.

Maliki has just returned from a three-day trip to Iran, where he glad-handed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. While on his diplomatic venture, he said he felt Iran was helping Iraq in its quest for stability, despite U.S. accusations that the Iranian military is enabling Shiite insurgents to attack U.S. soldiers. Bush, in turn, said last week that he thinks Maliki really thinks Iran is not "constructive." So I wanted to know what Maliki though of Bush's comments. (Sometimes I feel like reporters are international carrier pigeons relaying communications between world powers).

So I wrote my question down on a notepad and asked Hussein to ask the question (since I don't speak Arabic). The reporters at the press conference had been raising their hands and waiting on Maliki to call on them before asking their questions. But Hussein took a different tactic. He got ahold of a microphone being passed around the media audience and piped in with a question after Maliki finished answering a previous question. I wasn't really expecting that. I also didn't expect him to say (in Arabic) that he was asking a question on behalf of "Knight Ridder reporter Chris Collins" (we refer to ourselves as Knight Ridder even though we're now McClatchy). Great, I thought. How obvious can I be?

In response to the question, Maliki said he sees the U.S.-Iranian exchange as a "crisis" that Iraq is simply trying to help settle. He said he hopes he can create diplomatic channels for the two to settle their differences. He's obviously caught in a tough spot: He wants to warm up to his powerful Shiite neighbor (Maliki and most of Iraq is Shiite as well), but he also can't simply dismiss U.S. concerns about Iran.

After the press conference was over, I asked Hussein for a summary of what was said. He told me that a lot of the Iraqi reporters repeated themselves and asked similar questions about Iran. I'm still waiting to read the translated version (we recorded the press conference and Hussein is translating it now). I also asked Hussein what he thought of Maliki -- it was the first time either of us had seen him in person. Hussein's impression was similar to mine: Maliki was professional and forward, but you could tell he was somewhat nervous. I don't blame him. Hussein said Maliki and the Shiite majority are so used to being the opposition group (a holdover from Saddam's days), that they still haven't gotten used to the fact that they're supposed to be leading the entire country.

I hope Maliki realizes he's in charge. But it was the small things that gave away his nervousness. Hussein later told me: "When he walked in, he asked the media if they were ready. He didn't have to do that."