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Strutting & Fretting
Wednesday February 26, 2003
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Here's a major difference between the New World and Old Europe. Over the past 10 days or so, the parliament of Turkey asked for additional aid from the US in return for permission to base troops there. We've settled on $26 Billion in cash and loan guarantees.
It was never a question of whether or not we would punish Turkey. The question was: how much would we give Turkey?
At the same time, 13 former Communist nations (New Europe), 10 of which are hoping to join the European Union, signed a letter strongly supporting the US position on Iraq.
French President Jacques Chirac, who is leading the anti-Bush, anti-American forces, said of those countries - which are real, grown-up, independent nations:
"These countries have been not very well behaved and rather reckless of the danger of aligning themselves too rapidly with the American position ... They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet."
"[T]hey acted frivolously because entry into the European Union implies a minimum of understanding for the others."
Chirac, effectively giving them a "time out," threatened to withhold something from countries which disagree with him - membership in the EU.
Do you see the relative difference here?
The basic error in Chirac's strategy is this: The United States and Great Britain will remove Saddam Hussein from power, probably by the Ides of March, and bring a new age of stability to the region.
Because history is written by the winners, Chirac will not be able to playfully cuff President Bush on the shoulder and pretend he was really supporting the US and GB the whole time.
It has already started. France tried, in concert with Germany and Belgium, to forbid NATO's guarantee of Turkey's (also a member of NATO) security in the event of an attack from Iraq which is, after all, the only reason NATO exists - to protect its members.
But France - this will shock you - way back in 1966 decided to drop out of the NATO military structure, and remained a member only of the NATO the political apparatus (following which, NATO moved out of France, even though a better solution might have been to have moved France out of Europe.)
So, the US maneuvered the Turkey decision to the alliance's Defense Planning Committee on which France - by its own choice - has no seat and voila! The Deutsch and the Belch caved.
You may remember that on January 27th of this very year, Mullings predicted: "Everyone who thinks [Gerhard] Schroeder won't turn on the French to save his own skin, raise hands. Anyone? I didn't think so."
The "Old European Alliance" lasted until February 17th - three weeks on the nez.
Jacques Chirac's two best friends are now Saddam Hussein and Gerhard Schroeder. And, as we suggested, Schroeder is looking a little shaky.
Here's a Mullings Money-Making Idea:
Dear Investor: Have you been looking for a safe haven for your funds? Might I call your attention to - France - which is betting its entire future on the prospective financial, military, and social cooperation of Germany and Iraq.
How do you say, "Sign me up!" in Swiss?
So, Jacques Chirac is in the final act of this very dangerous stage production - a play in which every human being on the planet has a role and each knows the ending.
And Chirac is acting out Macbeth's lament as:
A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Very literary citations for "Ides of March" and "Macbeth"and a definition of "Ides."
--END --
Copyright © 2003 Richard A. Galen
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