In all the discussion of the Bush administration's renovations to the Geneva Conventions, I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone pull out this classic joke, which I first heard in Cairo circa 1991. Or maybe I just don't get out much, and everybody already knows the joke. Either way, here it is:
An American CIA agent, an Israeli Mossad agent, and an Iraqi Mukhabarat agent are sitting in a bar. They start arguing over who is the best at intelligence, so they decide to have a contest: the first one to come back to the bar with a camel wins. The American rushes out, calls up the King's office, and says "King, I need a camel - now." Five minutes later, the King comes huffing and puffing up, delivering the camel personally. "Thanks, your Royalness. You can go back to the casino now." Grinning a cocky American grin, he saunters back to the bar with his camel... only to find the Israeli sitting in his chair, resting his feet on a camel. "Dang it!" curses the American. "How did you DO that?" Then the two sit back and wait for the Iraqi. Hours pass. Finally, they go out looking for him. They don't have to go far. He's in the back alley, torturing a rabbit and screaming "Say you're a camel! Say you're a camel!"
Trust me, it used to be funnier.
It used to be funnier.
*weeps*
Posted by: Aziz | September 28, 2006 at 08:51 AM
When I last heard it (it's printed in a very fun travelogue called 'travels with a tangerine'), it was with the Egyptian secret police, and has them flogging an already-dead donkey, demanding that it confess. Either version is hysterical.
Posted by: homais | September 28, 2006 at 01:55 PM
There's a version of it in Joe Sacco's PALESTINE, as well. (KGB, CIA, Shin Bet in the three roles, respectively.)
Posted by: Tom Scudder | September 28, 2006 at 04:49 PM
In the new version, it is the CIA agent who is torturing the rabbit.
Posted by: BadTux | October 01, 2006 at 01:55 AM