If This is True, Then Bush is Definitely No Churchill

Timshel has a link to a Washington Post article about the book Chirac Contre Bush: L'Autre Guerre (In English: Chirac Versus Bush: The Other War).

Short version:

France was ready to provide up to 15,000 soldiers for the war, but between objections over the timing of the invasion--and Dubya's micron-thin skin--the deal fell through. It seems that the dauphin couldn't stand that Chirac and Bush, Sr. were bon amis, as it were, and of course we all know about how the US all but used a big hook to yank UN inspectors out of Iraq before Shock and Awe commenced.

Remember Shock and Awe? That faded faster than A Flock of Seagulls. And Bush's take on the invasion--"we won too quickly"--has about as much credibility as a Rumsfeld GPS Weapons of Mass Destruction locator.

You know, when I read the Post article, which shows the utter petulance of Bush the younger, I recalled what Churchill said when asked about the Stalin alliance during World War II. He said something about how he'd make a pact "with the Devil himself" if that's what it took to defeat Hitler.

In contrast, Bush can't even bring himself to deal with a genuine ALLY, both in a strategic geo-political sense AND in terms of politics. For those who might not recall, given the level of anti-French vitriol, Chirac is a conservative. And, yes, conservatives in industrial nations on both sides of the Atlantic have common cause (which means I'm not all that enamored of Jacques).

Now, 15,000 additional soldiers would hardly make an iota of difference strategically, but they most definitely would have had a political impact had they been deployed in sensitive areas at the outset. At this point, though, with more or less the entire country seeing insurgent action, I'll suggest that there are up to 15,000 French soldiers who should be grateful our president is such an idiot. At the same time, it once again demonstrates the clear contempt Bush has for our men and women in uniform.

Off topic, but: speaking of contempt, I saw on Atrios that Judith Miller had the book thrown at her. If it was me, it'd be 18 months for contempt of court--and 20 years for contempt of the truth.

Anyway, to wind up this post--I've said words to this effect before, but what the hell, I'll repeat: when historians of the future examine the Bush administration, they're going to wonder what sort of madness came over the country. For that matter, I can't believe there will be anyone--sort of a few wingnuts and evangelical X'tians--who will even admit they voted for the clown in a few years time.