According to this National Enquirer story, Saddam Hussein had a "crazy plan" to bomb the Eiffel Tower, with the hope that France would blame the attack on the United States.

Sources told The ENQUIRER that if the plot succeeded, Saddam planned to strike Germany and England, believing those two European nations would join France in violent protests against America.

It's in the Enquirer, so it must be true, but I have to say that Saddam is nuts if he thinks that a terrorist act would lead longtime allies to turn against each other. That could never happen.

Next you'll be telling me that Osama bin Laden could manipulate George W. Bush into launching what would be perceived in the Arab world as a holy war, thereby radicalizing moderate Muslims and creating new terrorists for bin Laden where they didn't exist before. Yeah, right. Bush is smarter than that. He wouldn't allow Osama bin Laden to manipulate him that way.

I suppose next you'll be telling me that George W. Bush would be stupid enough to squander worldwide goodwill after 9-11 and alienate our natural allies to the point that political hostilities result in an erosion of the effectiveness of the real fight against terrorism.

Please. George W. Bush isn't some insecure under-achiever who is in way over his head and who can be manipulated by some neocon schoolboys' subtextually taunting, "What's the matter, ya chicken? Huh? Ya chicken?" and whose perspective would become so twisted by war fever that he would equate wanting weapons of mass destruction with possessing them.

This is America, for Chrissakes. Our President would never act that way.