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France has often turned a blind eye to tyrants in its former African colonies where it has extensive cultural and economic interests. But Zimbabwe was a British colony, and Prime Minister Tony Blair begged Mr. Chirac not to invite Mr. Mugabe to his Paris soiree. Mr. Chirac declined to discuss the matter. Perhaps he was too busy threatening the Eastern Europeans who want to enforce the U.N. resolutions on Iraq or preparing his latest speech accusing the U.S. of moral obtuseness.
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When the first Iraqi scientist agreed to sit for a private interview with weapons inspectors without any official "minder" present, U.N. officials hoped that it was the beginning of an end to the dispute over interviews that had called into question Iraq's willingness to cooperate with the United Nations. But now, nearly two weeks later, U.N. officials are becoming increasingly frustrated that Iraq is paying only lip service to the demand for private interviews. In fact, they say, they have not had one successful interview with any of the scientists that they had asked to speak to about Iraq's alleged biological and chemical weapons programs.
Some of the things you can do to prepare for the unexpected, such as assembling a supply kit and developing a family communications plan, are the same for both a natural or man-made emergency. However, as you will see throughout the pages of Ready.gov, there are important differences among potential terrorist threats that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take. With a little planning and common sense, you can be better prepared for the unexpected.
For all the excitement and power of the present moment, it is the future of Condoleezza Rice that is most intriguing. ... A lot of the buzz around Washington is that in 2004 ... Bush might ask her to be his running mate. Which would make Rice a formidable candidate for president in 2008. And if this stellar achiever were to notch that victory, she'd no longer be the most powerful black woman in the world. She'd be the most powerful human on the planet.[GoMemphis: Books]
Chirac gave Robert Mugabe a red-carpet welcome to Paris yesterday, providing Africa's most infamous dictator with an entire wing of a luxury hotel [at the expense of French taxpayers]. While French police arrested more than a dozen demonstrators protesting at Zimbabwe's human rights abuses [including journalists], Mr Mugabe's wife, Grace, was given security guards and a limousine as she set out on ... a shopping trip.
Iraqi officials are yet to live up to promises of increased support and aid to U.N. inspectors looking for the country's suspected weapons of mass destruction, U.N. officials told The Washington Post. The Post, in a report Thursday from Baghdad, said Iraq is apparently taking heart from the split in the Security Council regarding possible military action against the country and the world-wide protests against war on Iraq. As a result, Iraq has changed from saying that its officials are complying with U.N. demands to asking for a lifting of sanctions instituted against Iraq after it was forced out of Kuwait more than 10 years ago.