How Iraq Confrontation Divided Western Alliance- France and Germany Strive To Check American Might

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | March 27, 2003 | MARC CHAMPION, CHARLES FLEMING, IAN JOHNSON and CARLA ANNE ROBBINS

[pittsburgh gop guy]

Early on Jan. 22, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sat down for 20 minutes with Jacques Chirac in the French president's gilded office overlooking the gardens of the Elys

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The confetti cruise missile flying at NYC. Seemed like a waste - and I got the impression that there weren't many left in the German inventory.

I felt like I was walking midway into a plotline without a summary heads up - something WEB Griffin considers and addresses pretty well when putting together a volume for Brotherhood of War and The Corps.

[Poohbah]

The confetti cruise missile flying at NYC. Seemed like a waste - and I got the impression that there weren't many left in the German inventory.

THAT was the action that would trigger a strategic laydown. Missiles inbound to NYC would result in the Prez getting stuffed onto the Doomsday Bird--he'd probably give the release codes while still aboard Marine One, and all of Germany would be a radioactive cinder in less than 30 minutes or STRATCOM would deduct $4 off the price of nuking South Africa.

[Ciexyz]

A good read. Fruck Fance AND Germany.

[MrConfettiMan]

ping

[ST.LOUIE1]

BUMP!

Thanks, King, great read!

[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...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[tictoc]

I don't read the article as being critical of the U.S. or wolfy:

You're right, it isn't. Instead, it's a "He Said, She Said" kind of report. That's alright, the WSJ wants to show its journalistic independence.

I think that mistakes have been made on the U.S. side. Most importantly, I suspect that the Administration did not sufficiently offer to take French and Russian commercial interests (i.e., pending oil exploration contracts) into account.

This war, after all, happens to be also about oil -- but on all sides including the French and Russians.

However, it doesn't change the fact that Chirac is bidding to become the world's principal opponent of the U.S., and expects to be rewarded handsomely with Arab oil money, while the stupid f---ing clueless Germans are along for the ride.

I'm sorry. I am so upset right now, I feel ready to go to the Elysée palace, wait for ChiraQ to step out, and punch him into the nose, HARD.

(Rest of message self-censored.)

[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.

[colorado tanker]

work to ensure regime change occurs in Germany

Schroeder seems to be doing his darnedest to sink his own government by his uncanny skill of always making the wrong decision in both economic and foreign policy.

It's an open question how helpful a CDU government would be. Certainly the anti-American rhetoric would stop. At one time they seemed to want to challenge the French for European leadership rather than follow the French, their historical policy. Germany has always sought leadership in Eastern Europe, and so may reflect their support for "new" Europe. I doubt a new government would be as supportive as the British, in any case.

[B4Ranch]

I have a hunch that Russia is behind the French and German No vote. There was a lot of money coming out of Iraq for these countries and they were afraid that we would close the gold pot.

This morning Blair was moaning that we need the UN in the UN to participate in the resurrection of a free Iraq! He is pulling the UN into the picture so the socialist Parliment doesn't burn him at the stake.

Politics has a great deal to do with this mess. I still haven't determined exactly why we are in Iraq. Two choices, money and money.

[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.

[SkyPilot]

There is an effort by the Axis of Weasels to turn the EU into a counterweight.

Ofcourse. The Euro currency is proof of this. The exchange rate with the USD still favors the EURO by about 10 cents--and the EURO was designed (and is propped up) to compete directly with the Dollar. It is also over-inflated (not just my opinion, but a belief held now by the many of the financially savvy in Frankfurt and Berlin).

This is a critical point in US history. I pray GW Bush does not melt--but stays firm. If Bush stands his ground, he will take the US to a new plane of strength. If he does not, Europe will sense fear and undermine America even more.

[Shermy]

Cicero you're right. This article sucks. It smacks of reading like a French talking points roadmap.

Iraq entered the picture several months later, in January 2002

BS. Bush Admin started talking about Saddam within the first week after 9/11.

IMO the article fails in three regards: one, it doesn't take into account France's monetary interests and power in Iraq, it's long relationship. Two, France opposed any deadline for enforcement ever. The issue of "inspectors" is really a non-starter. Threee, it fails to address the "counterbalance" argument, what did France and Germany intend to do with their strategy in Europe, and how they would position themselves as masters therein.

[longtermmemmory]

How will we get the 20 billion food money in the UN coffers? There has to be UN involvement in "some" form. NOT in charge, but as just another agency UNDER US supervision.

We must make sure Iraqi oil is priced in US Dollars.

[B4Ranch]

We must make sure Iraqi oil is priced in US Dollars.

Agreed

I don't want the UN to exist anywhere in our political system. We can hire a PRIVATE corporation to do what UNICEF does.