My country?

France and Belgium have done bugger-all to keep peace on the planet since we hauled their soggy asses out of Hitler's empire. France didn't rebuild Europe and Japan into economic powerhouses. It wasn't France holding the U.S.S.R. back from Western Europe. It wasn't France that kept China out of Taiwan and South Korea free. It wasn't France that caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. Oh, it was France that screwed up Vietnam and left us with the wet baby, but that's another story.

If France had its way, Saddam would still be in charge of Iraq, and France would still looking at $60 billion in oil contracts and $1.5 billion in oil-for-food sales. France didn't WANT a U.N. resolution to handle Saddam, since they liked Saddam right where he was.

I can understand how nations that have learned to think in terms of how the United Nations does things may have gotten the idea that making loud speeches and writing stern papers is the same as actually doing something. It's not.

I don't know why France thinks it's useful to throw sand into the gears at this point. What are they looking to gain? Is it money? Do they have macho issues? Do they think they have to throw some weight around to convince the rest of the EU that they should be in charge?

It's one thing to stand by while someone is carrying a heavy load. It's another to yell at them that they aren't doing it right. It's still a third to actually climb on top of the load while you're yelling. Try carrying it for a change. Just out of curiosity, had we gone into "containment mode," stationing massive military forces outside Iraq for years at ruinous cost, while Blix collected a paycheck for being led around by his nose and Saddam and sons partied on, how many troops and how much money was France going to commit to THAT effort? Thought so.

Sometimes I get pissed off at some European countries to the point that I wish we had just let the U.S.S.R. eat them. But you know, they probably would have gone right into Finlandization/Vichy mode, and never missed a beat or a meal.

And who gives a rat's ass what bed Saddam and bin Laden are hiding under? They aren't running things in their nations any more.

Argh. Never drink Red Bull by the sixpack.