“With regard to China, Europe intends to remove the last obstacles to its relations with this important country,” M. Chirac insisted. Mr Bush spoke of his “deep concern” that a transfer of military technology would change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan, a country US troops might one day have to protect.

We should thank W for his sincere and best effort at rescuing the EU. Then write them off (except Britain) and work on extending relationships with the Asian tigers, starting with Japan.

and when china implodes or goes for full democracy, france will be left holding the bag.

the net effect of this china gambit, by france, will be to give political cover for the u.s. to remove european access to american weaponry and american protection. what comes next is very predictable and very messy.

kicking france and germany out of nato just might make it into a "very useful" organization again.

history will record chirac as the cause of france's ultimate destruction. karma's a bitch baby...

We have always been far too reticent about imposing a price on nations for crossing us. It is time for France and Belgium to pay, and if Germany re-elects Schroeder then they get to pay too.

Chirac probably feels he's pulled off some sort of public humiliation of Bush, in the same vein as Khrushchev's rebuff of Kennedy at Vienna. This might be true if France mattered in the scheme of world events. As it is, Jacques can high-five his ministers for a day or so and then sputter angrily after that when Bush goes off and does whatever he thinks is best without caring one bit what the French want us to do.

I doubt if President Bush even gives Chirac a second thought - especially since the CIA MUST have copies of all the evidence that will put Chirac in legal danger the instant he is no longer in office.