In his speech to the U. N., Bush pronounced "Iraq" fairly correctly, slipping only once that I noticed. He used to pronounce it "EYE-RACK" all the time, but I think he's been coached. He did say "NOO-kyuh-ler" about a dozen times before I stopped counting.

In some cases the mispronunciation may be studied insult, but I don't really think so. In the U. S., the "EYE-RACK" and "EYE-RAN" pronunciations seem to be regionalisms. Southerners and Midwesterners mostly. You don't hear it that much in the Northeastern U. S. or on the West Coast. Since Bush and many of the current crop of U. S. political leaders are from the South, I guess we're sort of stuck with it.

". . . until the times do alter. . . ."

Don Firth