About 11 days ago, 15 members of a foreign naval force in uniform, bearing arms and the British flag in service of Her Majesty’s Government, had trespassed into Iranian waters. Media hype ensued and a campaign of disinformation by the British government attempted to paint it as a UN peacekeeping mission. Nevertheless, these soldiers did not bear the UN flag or the internationally recognisable “Blue Helmets” insignia. In all, it was yet another round of media spin tricks: Eisenhower and his televised denials of violating Soviet airspace with an American U-2; Colin Powel and his satellite photos of mobile WMD labs in Iraq; George Bush and his facts on Iraqi purchase of uranium in Niger.

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The twins of Bretton Woods were born after the Second World War. They were designed to maintain and promote the principles of capitalist economies and to develop stable markets, protecting them against socialist and communist methods of management.

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French politics is a fascinating process for outside observers. This year’s elections in France will set new standards for citizens’ rights and democracy. The season has already brought real and festering issues to the forefront of public discussion. Debates surrounding this election began two years ago, when Paris erupted in ethnic riots and Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, quipped about summarily deporting “scum” in France back “home” to Africa.

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This question has unfortunate undertones left over from the Cold War era. The so-called West as a political unit is a relic of that era. But much has changed since the 1950s.

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The situation in Iraq is not simply a matter of invasion without conquest, a failing puppet state. Iraq was already a minefield, and the invasion’s waltz of quickstep missions turned that minefield into a very complex disaster zone.

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