Italy, staying or going?
Italian politics has always been a source of entertainment. Now it's getting serious. Berlusconi's party is about to head into elections with a suffocating cloud hanging overhead, in the shape of Iraq. Unlike Blair, I think Berlusconi realizes support for the US will result in his political demise. Blair will probably weather the storm.
After the Italian pull-out it will almost exclusively US and British troops in Iraq.
"At its peak, U.S. and allied forces numbered about 300,000 troops sent by a total of 38 countries. The contributing states have dropped to 25 and troop strength to about 170,000.
About 150,000 U.S. troops shoulder the bulk of the responsibility and suffer the most casualties. Excluding U.S. forces, there are 22,750 foreign soldiers still in Iraq."
At this point Chirac must be chuckling to himself. With the war now in perspective he has earned the respect of both the electorate and in some respects the Administration.
After the Italian pull-out it will almost exclusively US and British troops in Iraq.
"At its peak, U.S. and allied forces numbered about 300,000 troops sent by a total of 38 countries. The contributing states have dropped to 25 and troop strength to about 170,000.
About 150,000 U.S. troops shoulder the bulk of the responsibility and suffer the most casualties. Excluding U.S. forces, there are 22,750 foreign soldiers still in Iraq."
At this point Chirac must be chuckling to himself. With the war now in perspective he has earned the respect of both the electorate and in some respects the Administration.
posted by mochi at 9:06 AM
3 Comments:
How can you say that Chirac looks respectable after the wave of freedom in the middle east due to the Bush doctrine, and the French Corruption exposed by Charles Duelfer concerning Oil For Food. Look at what the French did in the Ivory Coast. Chirac didn't oppose the war in Iraq because he thought that it was wrong. He opposed it because his govt. had financial dealings with Saddam's regime and they were being bribed by Saddam. If anybody is looking stupid right now, it is Chirac.
"America sat on the sanctions committee that approved all contracts. John Negroponte, America’s ambassador to the UN, admitted that while sitting on that committee, America had been more worried about keeping military goods out of Iraq than about corruption."
from the Economist April 22, 2004.
You know as well as I do that Iraq has had longer more lucrative relationship with the US than France. If Chirac is so stupid why is Bush so intent on rebuilding a relationship with the guy?
Bush is just being diplomatic. Nobody wants to have continuously bad relations with France. He was right to reach out to the French. We still have a lot in common with the French. They are not our enemies. They are rivals, but not enemies.
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