....In the face of this assault, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's response was emotional and indignant but not persuasive. He accepted that 9/11 had changed everything, that Saddam Hussein is a terrible man; but the timing is wrong, he said, and other problems too great. Breaking from German to English, he addressed Rumsfeld directly: "Excuse me, I am not convinced." Later, back in German, he admitted plaintively to one possible reason: "It would be easier, of course, if all of this fit into public opinion," he said. [Washington Post]

The official block on Turkey came today:

France, Germany and Belgium blocked NATO efforts Monday to begin planning for possible Iraqi attacks against Turkey, deepening divisions in the alliance over the U.S.-led push to oust Saddam Hussein.

....Early Monday, France, Germany and Belgium blocked the automatic start of NATO procedures for the military planning to protect Turkey, arguing it would force the crisis into a "logic of war'' when diplomatic alternatives still stood a chance of success.

"It would signify that we have already entered into the logic of war, that ... any chance, any initiative to still resolve the conflict in a peaceful way was gone,'' Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said. [AP]

It is gone, you toady lickspittle.

Over the weekend, at an international defense conference in Munich, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned continued delays in responding to Turkey's request were "inexcusable'' and risked undermining the credibility of the alliance.

He intensified his criticism in an interview published Sunday in Italy's La Republica newspaper. "Shameful, for me it's truly shameful,'' Rumsfeld was quoted as saying. "Turkey is an ally. An ally that is risking everything ... How can you refuse it help?''

In France, officials stood by their position but said they would help the Turks if they judged it necessary.

"If Turkey was really under threat, France would be one of the first at its side,'' French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters in Munich. "Today, we don't feel that threat is there.''

So it's just more symbolic political grandstanding for folks back home - "shameful" is the right word. Ostriches can be very stubborn.