What should one make of an item published last week in the French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé ? According to the paper, whose reporters are as good as they get, on January 13 French president Jacques Chirac’s diplomatic adviser, Maurice Gourdault-Montaigne, met with Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz in Washington. They accused Chirac of being “irresponsible” and of “encouraging” Saddam to resist. Now this was a week before Dominique De Villepin went to the UN and threatened to use a veto against a resolution authorizing force, when there was still a good chance to bring the French around on Iraq.

Is that why France is so keen to screw the US? Probably not. But would it have been such a big deal to invite Chirac out to Bush’s ranch and talk about Iraq, instead of bad-mouthing and then ignoring him?