Jinn of Current Events

USS Clueless: In the long run, the damage done by [the Germano-French] proposal [for armed inspections] will mostly be made good with revelations from captured Iraqi government records. Information about mass torture, summary executions, discovery of mass graves, revelation of German and French violations of the trade sanctions and in particular real evidence that we were right all along about Iraq's WMDs will go a long way to correct the damage. 

NYT: President Bush ... suggested today that the time might be near to drop the income tax as a whole and replace it with some form of consumption tax. This is his most audacious, positive proposal in US domestic policy. Of course, some people will complain that it would somehow hurt "the poor" — as if those who consume the most would not be the ones paying the most. 

This is but a first step and will directly hurt the German economy, given how much local business each US military base represents. It also signals the end of an era of cooperation with Germany, shifting support for America to other, more rational countries across Europe. The US government is also threatening a boycott of major German companies that have been trading with and supporting Iraq (such as Siemens). Schadenfreude is a German concept. NYT: The new supreme commander for American forces in Europe, Gen. James L. Jones, is considering a plan to scale back the presence of American troops in Germany in favor of lighter, more mobile units that could jump from country to country on a moment's notice... 

The primitive anti-americanism of the French and Germans has found support in the Belgians, at the expense of NATO and for the sake of supporting a tyrant. It's inexcusable, contemptible, and evil. BBC News: France, Germany and Belgium objected [to NATO taking defensive measures in Turkey] on the grounds that this was preparing for war not helping to avoid it. Those tracking Belgium's role will recall its refusal to provide Britain with shells before the Gulf War in 1991. Belgium is also known for having murdered 10 million people in Congo and having promptly surrendered to Germany at the beginning of WW II, thus accelerating the defeat and surrender of France. France is known for having withdrawn from NATO in 1966 and re-joined in 1995, long after the Soviet Union had crumbled. As for Germany, Germany is known for many things...