France, Germany, Iraq dismiss British compromise

Amid the hand wringing, finger pointing and downright glee in the American media over what they perceive as Bush and Powell's "failed" diplomacy the real story is playing out under the radar. The standoff with France is not about Iraq. It is about pulling the plug on a comatose UN and control of New Europe. Rumsfield was roundly ridiculed when he referred to Old Europe, but he was exactly right. Old Europe ceased to exist when the EU became the currency of a realigned Europe. EU membership of former Soviet states will further change the face of the EU and shift power from the UN to NATO.

Saddam has given France the opportunity to whip up an anti-American wave and ride it to power, that France makes a few billion on the side equipping Saddam is a side benefit. Chirac believes France will dominate the EU and become a world power after they checkmate the US and the UN. As if.

Once we oust Saddam and reveal how deep and broad France's perfidy, Europe will see once and for all that the Emperor has no clothes. When markets beckon, disaster strikes, tyrants threaten, who they gonna call? France without a military and a teetering economy? Non. They will hit the international 911, the U.S.

Far sharper minds have been on this track for some time. Steven De Beste is among the best at dissecting France's motivation and machinations. Den Beste says the French have overplayed their hand and describes the game not as chess or even poker, but Old Maid.

In other words, we just gave the Old Maid back to the French. And what I think may be about to happen is that we will spend a couple more days on diplomacy, then announce with great regret that there's no point in going on, and announce the attack anyway.

I think this will be enough for Blair. What he promised his MPs was that he would either have a resolution or an "unreasonable veto". But this amounts to the same thing as an "unreasonable veto" even if no actual vote takes place, and he's starting to lay the political groundwork in the UK for going to war without a vote in the UNSC at all. Once he thinks the time is right, then we'll express our regrets.

And one demonstration of the fruits of the process is this headline: "France, Germany, Iraq dismiss British compromise". Think about that: it groups all three together. It makes it seem as if they're working in tandem. It implies cooperation, coordination, maybe even secret alliance. You're beginning to see that attitude appearing in a bunch of places, but this was one of the better examples of it. The French will be exposed after the war as having attempted to keep Saddam in power, and of trying to perpetuate the horrors Saddam has been inflicting on his people. They'll be shown to be so dedicated to keeping Saddam in power that they were willing to destroy the UN just to give Saddam more time to torture and kill Iraqis. That's how the propaganda is going to play out.

Read the rest of Playing Old Maid and follow up Countdown.

Posted by feste at March 14, 2003 12:59 PM