Powell Re-Buffed by NATO

[CHIMO]

US Secretary of State Colin Powell's "charm offensive" in Europe bore little fruit on Thursday. NATO officials dashed US hopes the alliance would significantly boost contributions to Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the first day of his trip to Europe, what many are calling a "charm offensive" to sooth over tense transatlantic relations, US Secretary of State Colin Powell received disappointing news. Despite US hopes European members of the alliance would contribute to a larger officer training facility in Iraq and expand peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, he came up empty-handed.

At Thursday's meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hailed the decision on the part of certain members of the alliance, including Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland, to send more staff to an existing training facility in Baghdad, thereby boosting the total number from 60 to 300.

"When it comes time to perform a mission, it seems to us to be quite awkward for suddenly members of that international staff to say they are unable to go," he said, claiming such actions undermine the credibility and cohesion of NATO.


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1422994,00.html

"undermine the credibility and cohesion of NATO." Well like duh! Certainly takes awhile to sink in.

[UCLA Dem]

1. geeee....big friggin' surprise

when you give the finger to the rest of the world...guess what happens????

I don't know how I'm going to stand 4 more years of this shit.

[Brundle_Fly]

2. I cant stand

another 2 months.... :hurts:

[cavanaghjam]

3. NATO

has traditionally been the U.S.'s dog on a leash.

"When it comes time to perform a mission, it seems to us to be quite awkward for suddenly members of that international staff to say they are unable to go," he said, claiming such actions undermine the credibility and cohesion of NATO.

And "awkward" seems an understatement, unless a kick in the jewels is a bit "awkward". And I would say that such actions vividly demonstrate the credibility and cohesion of NATO. Even a dog knows to bolt when his master stupidly heads into a maelstrom of fire.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Fool us once...

[daleo]

5. Sending a Bush administration official on a charm offensive

Is like sending a moron to a spelling bee. It just makes no sense.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

6. Deception-I mean- Perception management is...hard work. n/t

[hippiechick]

7. "Charm Offensive" = "Please help us kill more Iraqi's"

Uh.... yeah, we'll get right on that with ya, Colin ... :eyes:


:hippie:

[xchrom]

8. "charm offensive"

i guess offensive was the operative word?

[PurityOfEssence]

9. Good. I hope the cheery-faced enabler gets insulted constantly

until he's shown the door to his embarassing "future".

He's a fool, a tool and a toady on a stool; may he live long enough to see what an embarrassing functionary of evil he's been.

[Vidar]

10. Props for NATO. Send the stool pigeon packing.

[fshrink]

11. Good cop/Bad cop

The black guy here is doing what he's told, but he doesn't like it, it pains him, so, see, maybe you could talk to him and things could get better. See, the guy is black so he knows about unfairness and all that. That's why he's been put there by the way. 'Cause, see, we don't mean no harm... We're compassionate people.

[VegasWolf]

12. The guy can't fool his own mother anymore. n/t