The CEO of the GSM Association, Rob Conway, has expressed his outrage at the timing of U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) push for the rollout of CDMA technology in post-war Iraq (see US Rep: Vive la CDMA!).

In his statement, Conway argues that Issa’s intervention is “as ill-timed as it is misinformed,” before stressing that any technology dispute should wait for an end to the current conflict (see GSMA Rebuts Congressman). “I can’t believe someone has started this debate at this time, and I certainly can’t believe it has been started from such a false position and on such nationalistic terms,” says the GSM man.

Despite his sensitivities to the timing of Issa’s remarks, Conway does seize the opportunity to tout GSM's virtues. “To suggest that GSM is simply a European or French standard is, in the current climate, quite outrageous,” he adds, before embarking on a detailed success story of the technology’s history, including its deployment in more than 20 Arab countries.

But, of course, now’s not the time to be dwelling on such trivial matters...

— Justin Springham, Senior Editor, Europe, Unstrung