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| Since what really alienated Europe was our going into Iraq at all. That's really a political misnomer unless you don't consider Britain, Spain, Italy, Poland and a few other ex-Soviet bloc countries a part of Europe. To me they are the largest portion of Europe in both land mass and population. It's seems a more accurate statement would be: since what really alienated France and Germany was our going into Iraq at all. That said, I don't recall anyone in the administration going out of their way to alienate France or Germany. Chirac had his own personal reasons all of which have become rather apparent since the war and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was bashing America for personal political gain that also became quite transparent. Secretary Rumsfeld's comment of "Old Europe" was an expression indicating that Europe is now different with the addition of the ex-Soviet bloc countries at best and a slap in the face of Chirac and Schroeder at worst. Assuming the worst case scenario, the comment came after France's DeVillipan & Chirac stabbed Secretary Powell in the back and Schroeder was bashing America for votes. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- France's ambassador to the U.S. has insisted that weapons inspections in Iraq were working, and that Washington has no clear authority for waging war now. Monday March 17, 2003 Former French interior minister Charles Pasqua has said he had been put under investigation for profiting from corruption in the UN's scandalized oil-for-food program for Iraq. Investigating Judge Philippe Courroye has also placed under investigation two former high-ranking French diplomats in the case. A UN report published last October showed that kickbacks and been paid for lucrative contracts linked to the program including over 170 French companies. Did they have different motive for/against the war than America? Daily Times Saturday, April 08, 2006 BERLIN: Germany’s parliament gave the green light on Friday for a parliamentary inquiry into whether German spies in Baghdad helped the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 at a time when the government was publicly opposed to the war. ...German agents in Baghdad helped the United States launch its invasion, including by picking out bombing targets. That alone should make one scratch his head about Germany's position on the war. Of course German agents may really NOT be under the control of the German government, but it's unlikely. Now I don't know what this all means, but it surely doesn't appear that everything is as we think. Going back and reading old news accounts in late 2002 and early 2003 gives me the clear impression that everyone gave permission to eliminate Hussein thinking it wouldn't happen. However, when it became clear that America was prepared to go immediately something happened to change these opinions drastically. Is it radical to think that Hussein paid hundreds of millions of dollars to a handful of French firms with the understanding that they would take care of certain French officials after they leave office? Remember we found close to 3 billion dollars in cash in several locations in Iraq. Is it possible that Chirac et al thought what the hell, let's take the money and let the American military whack this guy anyway. Getting their cake and eating it too? I simply don't think this is a far fetched scenario. Occum's Razor says this is more likely the case than all the nuanced positions we read in the newspaper.
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