Hey, looks like I called it! Chirac’s interested in the Chile proposal (original). I didn’t think that was actually likely, but I did note it would be a clever diplomatic move. Via Den Beste (original), who thinks it’s another chance to mock Chirac and rather misses the problems it might cause Tony Blair.
Time for another quick Iraq rundown. Bush’s promise to unveil a Middle East peace plan (despite what some in his administration think of it (original)) may have been another favor to Tony Blair, as it seems that promise is helping Tony Blair keep Claire Short (original) from resigning. On the flip side, a poll of Labor backbenchers showed 95 out of 129 MPs refusing to support military action without a second resolution. Still, any talk of peace (original) is simply avoiding reality. US bombers took out Iraqi radar systems last night — specifically, those systems which would give warning of a US attack. The Azores meeting is not a diplomatic summit, it’s a planning session for the attack. ...
So Charlie Daniels is explaining life to the Hollywood types. Yeah, well. I don’t know about all these people who keep saying “and you risked lives!” I grew up, for some of my childhood, in the small state of New Hampshire. I think it had more of an effect on me than I realized at the time: ten solid years of looking at the damned license plates, see. ...
I’ve gotta be missing something in this CNN article. Here’s the money quote: The Bush administration believes that it is one vote shy of having nine of 15 votes needed on a U.N. Security Council resolution that sets a Monday deadline for Iraqi compliance, a senior U.S. State Department official said, and officials are focusing diplomatic energies on Mexico and Chile to secure their backing. ...
Joshua Marshall has a nice little piece (original) on unilateralism, multilateralism, anti-Americanism, and the UN today. I’m going to offer a couple more points: Tacitus quite accurately pointed out to me that there was a vein of anti-Americanism even directly after 9/11; it’s not as if everyone in the world was our friends. On thinking about that a little more, though, I’m not sure it’s a distinctive statement. One could as easily point out that there’s always been a vein of anti-French sentiment in the world, and a vein of anti-British sentiment, and a vein of anti-British sentiment. It goes with the territory. Humans have a xenophobic streak. Bush should still be held accountable for fanning the spark of anti-Americanism into a roaring flame. ...
CNN picked up the bogus drone story. Do these people not read? Blix said he found RPVs. I’m slightly boggled. Must not give into frustration! Must be strong!
Clare Short, who is Tony Blair’s international development secretary, will resign if England invades Iraq without a second UN resolution. Bush needs Blair. Blair needs the UN. How clear does it need to get?
A lot of people wanted that memo (original) about the US spying on other UN members to be a hoax. Just something the Observer made up. Today, the Observer came [ever so close](http://web.archive.org/web/20080517120442/http://web.archive.org/web/20080517120442/http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,910648,00.html (original) “The Observer | Special reports | GCHQ arrest over Observer spying report”) (original) to reporting that their source was arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act. (Via Electrolite.) Fortunately, nobody really cares about this stuff. Right? (original)
Here’s that London Times article I mentioned yesterday. It reveals that Blix mentions Iraqi drones in his written report, and accuses him of trying to cover this up by failing to mention them in his oral report. Only problem is, he did mention them in his oral report. “Inspectors are also engaged in examining Iraq’s programme for Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs). A number of sites have been inspected with data being collected to assess the range and other capabilities of the various models found. Inspections are continuing in this area.” ...
As the blogosphere gears up for the Blix report to the UN, Howard Bashman soldiers along talking about legal matters. His post on yesterday’s Supreme Court decisions is so good I felt like linking to it. It ought also to be of particular interest to Californians and Alaskans, since two of the cases decided relate to California’s three strikes law and one of them is about the Alaska sex offenders registry. ...