Jeremy wrote:
] First of all, I was asking about anti-French sentiment in
] the US. Canada and Britain don't count, because it seems
] they are always feuding with the French.

Did I indicate otherwise?

] I ran your search, and all it turned up was an article about
] international reaction to Powell's UN speech.

I, unfortunately, didn't run the search... I figured it would pull up a few choice articles... I've seen a number of things going around recently about "why the french hate us" or things like "french military practices surrender." This is what the ambassador was trying to address.

] If there were real evidence of "strong anti-French sentiment",
] I would have expected it to show up in protests in US cities
] over the weekend.

I'll conceed that "strong" is the wrong word. There is no "strong" anti-french sentiment. Americans aren't pissed off enough to get out in the streets about it, but they are pissed off enough to start making fun of the French and accusing them of everything from weakness to hate, and with increasing frequency.

] Rumsfeld's "old Europe" was hardly a strong sign of
] anti-French sentiment.

But it does piss them off... The people on the street who beleive there might be an anti-french sentiment in the US. No one likes getting told that they are insignificant, particularily when they are trying to make a point. The world diplomatic has two meanings. Rumsfeld's comments might actually BE diplomacy, but they weren't very "diplomatic." They feed the perception that Americans are power mongering cowboys who don't give a damn what anyone else thinks.

Personally, I hate having to navigate that perception when I travel abroad as much as a frenchman might hate having to navigate a perception in the US that his country is weak. It basically doesn't help matters to throw coal on the fire.

Remember that most of the people protesting weren't holding up signs that said "Give the inspectors more time," nor did they ask Iraq to peacefully comply with UN resolutions. They were holding up signs that said "No blood for oil." These protests did have a decidedly anti-US slant. If we don't demonstrate respect for our allies we will not get any respect from them.

RE: Europe's Groundswell: Public Opinion