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Colombani complains, George Bush "lied about the weapons of mass destruction -- the official pretext for the war -- as now publicly established by recent investigations." More rubbish. The investigations have established that the weapons have not been found and may not exist. The claim that the president knew so at the time, and lied about it as a "pretext" for war, is a malicious falsehood.

SNIP

Colombani decries the Bush administration's "return of protectionism." This (plus preemption) "is why John Kerry is, a priori, perceived with so much sympathy" in Europe.

Has no one told Colombani that the Democrats have made protectionism -- attacking everything from NAFTA to the World Trade Organization -- a theme of this campaign, radically reversing the Clinton policies of the 1990s?

SNIP

It is not John Kerry's fault that he is endorsed by a Frenchman. (Or by Kim Jong Il of North Korea, whose media have been running some of Kerry's speeches verbatim!) But Kerry has made the major -- indeed, only discernible -- theme of his foreign policy "rejoining the community of nations" and being liked abroad again.