WTF Is It Now?!?

US Angered Over Reported French-German Plan to Extend Iraq Inspections
Boo-f*cking-hoo, Rummy.

08 Feb 2003, 21:10 UTC: U.S. officials are furious at France and Germany for reportedly developing a new proposal to extend United Nations weapons inspections in Iraq, as trans-Atlantic tensions over how best to disarm Saddam Hussein continue to worsen.

According to U.S. officials, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked German Defense Minister Peter Struck about the plan after German media outlined its proposals but was told Berlin was not ready to discuss the plan with Washington. A senior U.S. official later told reporters the French-German tactic was not the way to have a winning hand with Washington.

The defense ministers met on the fringes of an international security conference in Munich, where Mr. Rumsfeld publicly criticized France, Germany and Belgium for blocking NATO efforts to defend Turkey in the event of war in Iraq. He said delaying preparations for war would only make war more likely, not less.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Paris has not ruled out the use of force to disarm Iraq, but she said war should be the last resort.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he is not convinced of the need for military action against Iraq at this time.

Although German and French officials would not publicly discuss details of their reported plan, the magazine Der Spiegel said it would triple the number of inspectors and deploy U.N. troops throughout Iraq. - link.