Crazy Like A Fox?

When I first read this piece in the International Herald Tribune I agreed with Hindrocket's analysis and gut reaction, but after thinking about about it over a sandwich and Pale Ale, that may be too obvious a take on it.

France seeking to put pullout on agenda

Paris also wants 'all forces in Iraq' at proposed talks

WASHINGTON France said Monday that it would take part in a proposed international conference on Iraq only if the agenda included a possible U.S. troop withdrawal, thus complicating the planning for a meeting that has drawn mixed reactions.

Paris also wants representatives of Iraq's insurgent groups to be invited to a conference in October or November, a call that would seem difficult for the Bush administration to accept.

[...]

A U.S. State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, was asked Monday about the French conditions for taking part in an international conference. He declined to comment directly.

"This is something that the Iraqis are taking the lead in putting together," he said. "So I would refer, you know, those kinds of questions to them."

On the underlying question of a troop withdrawal, Ereli said, "We've always made clear that our goal is to - is to work ourselves into obsolescence."

The international conference, if it is held as announced, would include Iraq neighbors like Iran and Syria, both of which U.S. officials have accused of interfering in Iraqi affairs.

Powell met last week in New York with the Syrian s foreign minister, Farouk al-Shara, at least partly to discuss cooperation along the Iraq-Syria border. Referring to the international conference, Powell told CNN on Sunday, "This was a way to reach out to Iraq's immediate neighbors and persuade them that this is the time to help Iraq, so that the region can become stable."

Powell had said Friday that the administration was working with interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq to invite major Western democracies, some Middle Eastern countries, and China to a conference aimed at bolstering Iraq's election process. Allawi has promised elections for a national assembly by the end of January.

On Sunday, Powell said that the conference could take place in Amman or Cairo. The conference would aim to confer greater legitimacy on the election process, encourage more Iraqi dissidents to participate, and reach an accord barring interference by neighboring countries.

Read the whole piece and contrast it with Kerry's recent position/criticisms. No matter the outcome of the conference, even if Europe withdraws in a snit, it leaves Kerry no where to go. The French media seems to think Bush has outmaneuvered Kerry.

A commentary in the French daily Le Monde said that "if it had wanted to pull the rug out from under the feet of the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, the Bush administration would not have gone about this any differently." Powell rejected the notion that the administration was behind plans for the event. "That's not the case," he told Fox News on Sunday. "This is an idea of Prime Minister Allawi."

Allawi. Priceless.