France Gains Some Spine...

As recently reported, the French backing away from their tiring anti-Americanism of the Chirac years are now acting as if they are one of our allies...

Another possibility was shuttle-diplomacy led by Kouchner among the factions, the official said.

The French move carries the personal mark of Kouchner, who was one of the few French politicians who backed the forcible removal of Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and whose longstanding and close relations with Kurdish and Shiite leaders have earned him credibility in the region. During his visit to Iraq, he held talks with religious and political leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, whom he has known for three decades.

"France in general and Bernard Kouchner in particular are uniquely placed to be a honest broker in Iraq," the French official said.

Chirac's negative knee jerk de Gaulle like reaction to everything American may be coming to end on Europe. Maybe its because they have finally figured out that fanatical Muslims are a gigantic risk to modern Europe and that the US is a supporter of their liberty and way of life. Its about fucking time!