CHIRAC CRITICAL OF US TSUNAMI AID EFFORT

From FOXNEWS:

Within days of the disaster, the U.S. military aircraft were conducting aerial reconnaissance and transporting supplies and wounded victims. Soon after, American ships began arriving -- providing fresh water, carrying supplies, and transporting helicopters. As of Jan. 7, America had more than 12,500 military personnel in place, along with 20 ships, 44 aircraft and 54 helicopters -- with more on the way. All of this was done without direction from the United Nations. You would expect applause for such initiative, but no: These magnificent efforts have been criticized by some as another example of American “unilateralism” designed to undermine the United Nations. French President Jacques Chirac fears “that Washington is deliberately circumventing the United Nations and wants to compete with the international organization,” the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported. “President Chirac wants to hinder America from using its ad hoc-organized aid operation to set a precedent that will lastingly weaken the role of the United Nations.”

Chirac is an ass.

This story by Roger Cohen from the IHT may explain why: Asked if France, now a medium-sized power, had too many pretensions on the world stage, [French Foreign Minister] Barnier replied: "We don't have pretensions. We have ambitions. We have ideas." [...] "Sometimes we are arrogant," he continued. "But others are, too, no? It's not an excuse, I know."

So let's make that ARROGANT ASS!