bGermany Now Backs Regime Change in Iraq/b
2 hours, 59 minutes ago

By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Wednesday he hoped
Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s government would collapse quickly,
marking a stark turnaround from Germany's previous opposition to regime
change as a goal of the U.S.-led war.

"We hope the regime will collapse as soon as possible and we'll have no
further loss of life — civilians or soldiers," Fischer said before a meeting
with his British counterpart, Jack Straw, at a hotel in Berlin's Grunewald
suburb.

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The government of France swore a similar loyalty oath to the "democracies" a
day or two ago. Well, so much for the Franco-German opposition. Blood is
thicker than water; and class is thicker than blood. I called these guys
"pompous Pilates" a week ago. I hate to be right :-( Not that I had any
faith in their love of peace, but I hoped they thought their own national
interests were threatened by the US war. They just seem like so
contemptible now, crawling back to lick Bush's feet like whipped
broken-spirited hounds. Is this because (a) they just believe that it's
impossible to fight the United States, or (b) they are afraid of the Arab
and Muslim masses rising up and want to close ranks with the US before the
world explodes? Or, come to think of it, (c) it is a maneuver to make a
bloc with the UK in fighting over the postwar spoils (or begging the US in
unison for some postwar spoil crumbs). Or what?

The irritating thing is, for some time to come we are going to be dealing
with idiots of the "freedom toast" ilk, who do not read the newspapers,
twitting us about our supposed love of everything French. "Perfidious
toast" and "Pusillanimous chocolate cake" would be more a propos (if it were
appropriate to confuse the government with the nation, which of course it is
NOT.)

Lou Paulsen