Search

Offers observations on the efforts of France to scuttle United States war plans in Iraq, and analyzes the consequences. The diplomatic endgame in the United Nations Security Council is not going smoothly. In fact, there seem to be only three ways for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to stay in power much beyond March, 2003: he can surrender his weapons of mass destruction in compliance with Resolution 1441, U.S. President George W. Bush may drop his threat to not use force in the case of non-compliance, or Bush waits to see whether the extra inspections France wants really can disarm Iraq peacefully. France sees no reason why they should support the new resolution from the U.S., Great Britain and Spain, which by stating the obvious--Iraq is in breach of 1441--is plainly intended to pave the way for war. But what if, now that he has picked this particular fight, French President Jacques Chirac proceeds to lose it? If it goes even half-way towards achieving Bush's vision of a democratic future for the Middle East, France will have absented itself from a history-changing intervention in a part of the world where it has long claimed a special influence.

Focuses on the European Union (EU) summit in Nice, France in anticipation of the entry of several new members. Issues of restructuring the EU and voting rules; Discussion of two broad competing visions for the EU, including a system of loose association among member countries.