Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- The cowboy has been retired. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is king. That's the conventional wisdom about Bush's second term: Under the influence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the administration has finally embraced ``the allies.'' This is considered a radical change of course. It is not. Even the most ardent unilateralist always prefers multilateral support under one of two conditions: (1) there is something the allies will actually help accomplish, or (2) there is nothing to be done anyway, so multilateralism gives you the cover of appearing to do something. The six-party negotiations on North Korea are an...

Tony Blair called yesterday on leading members of the Nato alliance, including France and Germany, to demonstrate more commitment to the efforts of the United States and Britain to counter international terrorism. In a statement to MPs on his return from the Nato summit in Istanbul, Turkey, Mr Blair said the alliance had begun to understand the terrorist threat and its implications. But he was worried that Nato's response was still "not sufficient to the challenge we face". He said the alliance's adversary was no longer the Soviet Union but terrorism and unstable states, which dealt in chemical, biological and...

Sugar Daddies to Dictators Free Iran atActivistChat.com November 19, 2003 The Wall Street Journal Mike Gonzalez "Follow the money" is an old adage of American journalism, and it means that economic interest will eventually explain much human behavior. That France opposed the removal of Saddam Hussein because he owed millions to French banks adheres to this theory, for example. Less well known, but much more troubling, are key French financial links with other U.S. enemies around the globe. They raise the possibility that the Franco-American conflict over Iraq was just a beginning. For France was not just Baathist Iraq's largest...

Powell Rejects French Timetable for Iraq By GEORGE GEDDA Associated Press Writer GENEVA (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday rejected as "totally unrealistic" a French timetable for the full transfer of authority in Iraq to local control, starting with the establishment of a provisional government next month. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin outlined the proposals on the eve of a meeting here Saturday involving U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and representatives of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Powell will meet separately with each of his colleagues, including de Villepin, who has been...

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 10 — Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticized the Justice Department Thursday for failing to prosecute a French bank for its secret purchase of a California-based life insurance company a decade ago. Lawmakers speaking at a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee also urged the Justice Department not to negotiate a lenient settlement with Credit Lyonnais, which California officials allege defrauded 300,000 insurance policyholders of the Executive Life Insurance Co. Although federal prosecutors in Los Angeles recommended indictments against Credit Lyonnais in April 2001, Justice officials apparently are in...