Iraq PM Shrugs Off US as Sarko Cozies Up

New foreign minister may take on peace conference

(NEWSER) - "Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone," the new French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, told a French radio station on his way out of Iraq yesterday. Kouchner 's 3-day visit confirmed that the French see a role for themselves in mediating a political resolution in Iraq. One possibility is a peace conference that would bring Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds together in France. More»

French president's turn as EU chief cost double the usual amount

(NEWSER) - The French Senate is perhaps understandably miffed at the outrageous price tag of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 6-month stint as president of the European Union. The half-year job of hosting meetings and events appears to have cost $262 million, which is borne mostly by the host nation, an official tells the BBC. Perhaps the most conspicuous expenditure, the Guardian notes, is $410,000—for a shower that Sarkozy never used. More»

(NEWSER) - Europeans may have longer lives and longer vacations, but red-blooded Americans don't want their socialist ways on this side of the ocean, right wing media mouths are eager to remind everyone, MIchael Freedman writes in Newsweek. Underlying much of the opposition to health care reform is the fear that it's part of an anti-American conspiracy to transform the US into a "European social welfare state," according to Rush Limbaugh. More»

Candidate holds meeting, press conference with 'pal' Sarkozy

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has arrived in Paris, where the candidate is holding talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before a joint news conference. Sarkozy rushed back from a summit in the southwest of France to meet Obama at the presidential palace, reports AP. The two first met in 2006 when Sarkozy was running for president and visited Washington. More»

He begins Mideast tour to shore up foreign policy image

(NEWSER) - John McCain made a surprise visit to Baghdad this morning, where he will meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Gen. David Petraeus, and US troops. Details were sketchy for security reasons. McCain, who has linked his political hopes to success in Iraq, has begun a tour of the Mideast and Europe to position himself for the general election as a world leader, the Chicago Tribune reports. More»