February 21, 2002

More backpedaling from EU honchos

More backpedaling from EU honchos on their "get tough with Uncle Sam" routine. Or maybe they're just puncturing their own trial balloon. My favorite quote is from Chris Patten (who admitted he "lost his cool" in his recent Guardian interview):

It would be a tragedy if Saddam Hussein got the impression that he could play off one group of countries against another.

Gee, where do you think he'd get that impression, Chris? Tragic is as tragic does. Not that it matters a great deal, of course, as Patten recognizes:
Mr Patten acknowledged that there was a basis for US irritation with an EU left far behind by America's vastly greater military spending and global reach.

"The most irritating thing about working with Europe is the number of times that our rhetoric outstrips what we are actually willing or able to do," he admitted. "For American criticism of us to focus on that is entirely legitimate."

Cool. We win the EU legitimacy award. Now get out of our way.

Posted by Dr. Frank at February 21, 2002 12:05 AM | TrackBack