2.21.2003
well... part two.
I was going to mention last night that I read a very interesting article. It was in Time, and was an interview with Jacques Chirac. I was very impressed and gained a lot of respect for the man. I didn't realize that he had lived and worked in the US for many years. I guess he spent 16 years in St. Louis as a forklift operator for Anheuser-Busch. He came off as very intelligent, and was very adamant about not being anti-american (as I believe many French are). He had some good points about why he thought war in Iraq was premature, but I got the impression that the rift between him and Bush was not that great. Surprisingly small, in fact. He said that the best thing would be for Saddam to just disappear, and he agreed with Bush that exile would be an acceptable way to avoid a war. He seemed to be a little too rooted in going by the dictates of the UN, but in all it was a very intriguing look at the man. I realize that anything can be faked by the interviewee or misrepresented by the interviewer for a two page thing in Time, but I was impressed by the article.
I wonder how much of the international diplomacy thing is merely an act. Do they scream and fight for the cameras and then head to a bar, play darts all evening and watch the football game? It seems like they get all mad at each other, but think highly of each other when not on a stage. It is hard to tell.
I was going to mention last night that I read a very interesting article. It was in Time, and was an interview with Jacques Chirac. I was very impressed and gained a lot of respect for the man. I didn't realize that he had lived and worked in the US for many years. I guess he spent 16 years in St. Louis as a forklift operator for Anheuser-Busch. He came off as very intelligent, and was very adamant about not being anti-american (as I believe many French are). He had some good points about why he thought war in Iraq was premature, but I got the impression that the rift between him and Bush was not that great. Surprisingly small, in fact. He said that the best thing would be for Saddam to just disappear, and he agreed with Bush that exile would be an acceptable way to avoid a war. He seemed to be a little too rooted in going by the dictates of the UN, but in all it was a very intriguing look at the man. I realize that anything can be faked by the interviewee or misrepresented by the interviewer for a two page thing in Time, but I was impressed by the article.
I wonder how much of the international diplomacy thing is merely an act. Do they scream and fight for the cameras and then head to a bar, play darts all evening and watch the football game? It seems like they get all mad at each other, but think highly of each other when not on a stage. It is hard to tell.
< 11:46 >< /j >
