Up Against the World

Let's revisit the testimony of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

He said that Iraq is on the bull's-eye and that the administration is reviewing the most serious options imaginable. He also said that it was so important that there be a regime change in that country that if the U.S. found itself going at it alone, then it would do it alone.

The French foreign minister was reported to have come unglued about this attitude, complaining that the U.S. is gearing up for action against Iraq and maybe even Iran.

France is upset. Evidently it has business with Iran, and doesn't want us screwing up their deals. France also thinks we're not treating Yasser Arafat very well, and are being way too accommodating to the Israelis.

Britain is also getting in on the bash America action. The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said President Bush's targeting of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil" was merely election year rhetoric that would go away.

The Germans are upset too, as are the Spanish. And the list goes on...

But Collin Powell, the Bush administration multilateralist, says we'd go it alone on Iraq. The Pentagon, we're told by Fox News correspondent Bret Baier, continues to work on military contingency plans.

So the future is now clear. I think the man on the street in Europe is probably behind us, but his or her leaders are mealy-mouthed. Officially, it's us against everybody, with everybody sticking up for — of all people — Saddam Hussein.

I hate to be alone in a decision, but I like this one a lot. If I have to pick a side, it's going to be the one on which Saddam is not. If the European leaders want to side with him, that's their problem. It's weird that they would find themselves painted into that corner, but that's what they've chosen.

French wine is fine. French advice is vinegar. The U.S. is going to have to go after Iraq alone.

That's My Word.

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