Then Rummy Sat Down at the Piano and Delivered His Classic Interpretation of Stick McGhee's "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"

Slate: How do you feel about the U.S.-led Iraq war?
Ahmet Ertegun: First I was upset because the [Turkish government] wouldn't let the Americans go through the Turkish border with Iraq. That really kind of destroyed a bridge that my father created between Turkey and the U.S. I saw Rumsfeld a few days after that happened, and Donald said, "What happened, Ahmet, where are our friends?" I said, "Look, I think they voted against it to make [Turkey's Prime Minister Tayib] Erdogan look bad. It was purely a local political thing."

So Rumsfeld was relying on Ahmet Ertegun for strategic advice, which explains a lot. Especially his now-infamous pre-war prediction that "once the Iraqis can dig Mabel Mercer on the Armed Forces radio, babe, it'll be, like, groovy all the way to Baghdad."