Nancy Gish wrote:
>
>
> And why the French should assume that a negotiation with us consists of
> listening and then agreeing I don't know. They don't agree. They are not
> stupid or children or mad. They just don't agree. And there is no reason
> why they have to.

The Cold War is over. That leaves room for the kind of antagonisms which
led to World War I.

Consider a simple fact. (I make no assertion as to subjective motives in
Washington, but merely note the public fact.) A U.S. Army occupying Iraq
would have its finger on the carotid artery of Europe and Japan. The
U.S. does not need Mideast oil for its own purposes: its oil comes from
Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, and Nigeria. So the coming war is not for oil
but for _control of oil_. That could be worrying France, and the concern
would be quite rational.

Carrol