As many shake their heads in horrified awe at the Bush White House comedy routine -- diss France, Germany and Russia, then ask them for favors -- there are others instead nodding mysteriously. The nodders are those who believe there are no accidents here, and that the Pentagon hard-liners issued the diss fully aware of how it would screw up the favor-asking.
In line with that theory, it’s worthwhile to note an an anonymous quote in the Friday New York Times: “Other countries know that [Colin] Powell doesn’t win all the battles. If you deal with [James] Baker, you know you’re going to get what you need.”
Since Powell is secretary of state and Baker is just a special envoy to the president, signed up solely to get France, Germany and Russia to release Iraq from some of the money it owes them, there seems to be a strong signal being sent to Powell. And to the rest of us, of course, meaning everyone who thinks Powell -- still somehow considered a voice of restraint -- is one of the better things about the Bush administration.
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