Although Chirac is, as Reuters notes, “silent”, a panicking French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is now saying
that “just because [France is] against this war doesn’t mean we want dictatorship to defeat democracy”.
Well, if that’s the case Raffarin better try explaining this fact to the third of the French who want Saddam to
win this war. He might also like to travel to Zimbabwe to explain to the people of that country just how, exactly,
Chirac’s appeasement of Mugabe can be reconciled with his much-vaunted attachment to democracy.
Raffarin is, by all accounts, a decent man. He does himself no credit by acting as a stooge for Chirac, liar and
demagogue. He should resign.