Signs and symbols

Stuart Taylor’s Opening Argument column in National Journal is remarkably unsparing on the foreign policy issues confronting the West: “How free-riding French, Germans risk nuclear anarchy.” Taylor shows little patience or understanding for the shenanigans of the French and Germans in undermining American policy toward Iraq: “The superficially clever Chirac and Schroeder are not wise leaders. They are fools. And they are helping to bring the world closer to a dark era of nuclear anarchy.”
George Will’s column this morning is an excellent accompaniment to Taylor’s, looking at the same issues through the educated eye of Conrad Black: “A moral defense.”
The Washington Post’s David Ignatius, on the other hand, has been to France and interviewed French Foreign Minister Dominique “Pretty Boy” de Villepin. He apparently does not find de Villepin or the French view a fit subject of derision: “Translating for the French.” I’m not sure who is translating for whom in Ignatius’ column; if Ignatius is translating for de Villepin, I think Diana West’s column today offers a more reliable effort: “The Eurabian alliance.”
In his New York Post column this morning, Daniel Pipes attempts to translate President Bush’s somewhat irreconcilable statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for folks like me who care, but don’t understand how to read all the signs: “Bush on Israel: Heartburn for all.”
One sign that I have never seen discussed is the ubiquitous mustache among the Iraqi military. New York Times military correspondent Michael Gordon has an interesting column with a photograph that illustrates the phenomenon: “Reading Saddam’s mind.”
Maybe the explanation is too obvious to require comment, but it speaks volumes to me about the deeply disturbed condition of the situation in Iraq. Even Hitler’s minions didn’t mimic his physical appearance. (All except Diana West courtesy of RealClearPolitics.)