[pittsburgh gop guy]

Great article detailing how France & Germany suck. ANd how they are envious of the U.S.'s hegemony in the world today.

[XJarhead]

That really is a great article. It's purely factual, without much bias at all. A nice bit of journalism.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There's no question ENVY is at the center of it. The US works harder, produces more and is more free than either of these socialist states and they just can't stand it.

[hchutch]

A note on the Axis of Weasels. Michael Ledeen's earlier National Review piece seems to be on target. There is an effort by the Axis of Weasels to turn the EU into a counterweight. The best counter-move to this effort by France and Germany, IMHO, is to align with Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin and the rest of New Europe, and work to ensure regime change occurs in Germany, thereby isolating the French.

[Cicero]

I tend to disagree. This article is factual, but it is shot through with negativity. I would guess it is the work of the left-wingers on the WSJ news staff, rather than the more conservative editorial page staff.

Pretty typical is the implication that the US made a bad mistake in not accepting the offer of NATO help. But, as the article itself admits, that turned out to be a French Trojan horse. NATO would have been--and proved to be--no more use than the UN, because the French intended from the beginning to veto any initiatives that might be taken.

Although the article doesn't use the infamous word "unilateral," it does strongly imply that the US screwed up and isolated itself. That simply isn't true. We made every diplomatic effort to bring about a consensus. Other than the central axis of Germany, France, and Belgium, and the mischief-makers in Russia and China, and the rogue states, most of the world is on our side. Muslims are not very happy, but that can't be helped, obviously.

The article says, "By the end of that day, the West was headed for a diplomatic train wreck on a scale not seen since World War II." That statement is accurate. And the perpetrator of the disaster was Jacque Chirac, although the writers do their very best to obscure that central fact.

[schaketo]

Here's what I sent puddin-head last Saturday via USPS. Sent it via mail using 3 U.S. Flag stamps. Bastards!

French President Jacques Chirac
Monsieur Le President de la Republique
Palais de l'Elysee
55, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore
75008 Paris
FRANCE

Dear President Chirac,

Just a quick note to ensure you understand millions of Americans will never forget you and your country’s cowardice.

We have somewhat considered you an ally and a friend. That perception has recently shifted for all times. And trust me, it is permanent.

I and millions of other Americans are now encouraging our elected officials, President Bush’s administration and business leaders to change their thinking about France. You will see in the future a new punitive approach towards our relationship with your country.

Don’t expect a public announcement regarding this shift. But it will happen.

With friends like France who needs enemies. We are quickly discovering who our real friends are. It is not you or your country. I imagine a few years down the road there will be hell to pay for your position in the history books and your political party’s future.

We’re tired of your slander and your weak knees. Thanks for all your help in the United Nations.

Yours truly,

[hchutch]

Can you give this a mega-ping?

[longtermmemmory]

BUMP THIS ARTICLE, WOW! this is very well written and puts the diplomatic war in perspective.

This is a must read for everyone following the war because it defines the post war landscape of the Diplomatic War after the peace.

[GalaxieFiveHundred]

I think the root of Schroeder's actions can be traced back to last November when he prevailed in the lawsuit about whether or not he dyes his hair. Flush with confidence from that hard fought victory, he set a course for even more inane nonsense and frivolity.

Dye Another Day

[tictoc]

Yeah, its' Wolfowitz's fault because he ignored Euro offers of aid.

It's Rumsfeld's fault for dissing Old Europe.

It's Bush's fault for being a Texas yokel who has no powers of persuasion.

Suure.

If anyone believes that, take a look at how Chirac and Schroeder and their assorted continental minions are treating Tony Blair, a gifted public speaker in a long line of eloquent British prime ministers, a man with a lifelong commitment towards closer integration of the UK into Europe, committed to ditching the pound, abasing himself for the purpose of bridging the trans-Atlantic gap.

How do they treat Mr. Blair, who tired himself out in his effort to explain the new world reality to the world and especially Europe?

For his efforts, Chirac and Schroeder treated him lower than the dirt on their shoes.

So, it really doesn't matter what missteps the U.S. administration may have made. The outcome would have been the same regardless.

[madison46]

BIG HUGE BUMP

[Ciexyz]

A good read. Fruck Fance AND Germany.

[MrConfettiMan]

ping

[Mr. Mojo]

Cutting off all aid and trade relations with France, Germany, and Russia is in order. Let's see how long their intransigence lasts then. Some nations just can't come to grips with the fact that they're America's b/tch.

[Nexus]

putting in question the alliances and institutions that have provided structure to the world since 1945.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but "Germany" as we currently know it has only been around for a decade or so, right?

Thanks to us - "TEAR DOWN THAT WALL", lest they forget...

[Jim Noble]

>>, pitting Washington against a monumental alignment of world opinion<<

This formulation reveals one of the many fatal defects in the UN structure.

There is no such thing as "world opinion" - or at least, if it exists, it is not measurable in any way that our Constitution or our laws would recognize as valid.The "opinion" of Zimbabwe, or Chad, or Iraq, are the opinions of thieves, murderers, and sociopaths, with no right to rule much less to express their personal hallucinations as representative opinions.

The use of voting in the UN magnifies this flaw. When Guinea votes in the Security Council, we take it "as if" people in some part of the world were weighing in on the issue at hand, which is almost never true.

[EternalVigilance]

Diplomats have caused more problems than they have ever solved.

Thank God President Bush has had his reined in throughout this debacle. State Department pantywaist pukes, left to their own devices, would have surrendered to France.