Franco-American Axis of Idiocy.

Following the news from both France and the U.S., can be very entertaining and I am quite amused by the irony of the current situation:

On the one hand, you have a major investigation of possible corruption by French officials and companies in Iraq which is making its way to the healines as no less than France's former ambassador to the U.N. was taken into custody yesterday. So far this is is the most senior former French official to be detained but the name of Pasqua, former French interior minister, has also come up several times in a CIA report. No doubt that more names and company leaders will come out of the investigation.

On the other hand you have a top White House official, Karl Rove, under investigation for leaking the name of a CIA agent. Karl Rove who is, according to The Wall Street Journal (not particulalrly known for its liberal views) one of the spin-doctors who sold the war to the American people:

Formed in August 2002, the so-called the White House Iraq Group, which included Messrs. Rove and Libby, worked on setting strategy for selling the war in Iraq to the public in the months leading up to the March 2003 invasion.

In fact the reason behind the French-American crisis over iraq in 2003 may to do with having too much in common and that commonality is certainly not the interest of the people , no, it is rather the pursuit of self-interest and personal agenda.

Maybe in the end there will be some form of poetic justice coming out of the different investigations in both countries. In any case, I feel quite comforted in my criticism of both countries during the crisis that led to the war. Both governments made a mockery of internatonal diplomacy. Both Bush and Chirac lied to their people and they should be made accountable for their poor choices.
I am not naive enough to assume that decisions by world leaders are based on moral principles but at least I'd expect them not to get caught so plainly. I expect them to know how to lie a little bit better and be a bit more subtle about it, a bit more professional that is - out of respect for people's intelligence if nothing else, but no, they're not even that good! Well, for that alone, they should be impeached!