- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
Michael Friscolanti
National Post
Monday, November 25, 2002
The official newspaper of Iraq‘s ruling party yesterday described George W. Bush as "Clown George" -- justifying its portrayal by noting that Jean Chrétien‘s spokeswoman said the U.S. President is "a moron."
The editorial, published in the Baath Party‘s daily Ath-Thawra, will likely do little to help smooth Canada-U.S. relations, which appeared to suffer a severe setback when Françoise Ducros, the Prime Minister‘s communications director, criticized Mr. Bush during last week‘s NATO summit in Prague.
"The United States ... thinks that its policies can scare the world and force it to submit to the U.S. will, but in fact, it is the opposite that happened," the editorial reads. "Bush has become the most hated person in the world and who is given all sorts of bad names, especially in the West like the Canadian Prime Minister‘s spokeswoman ... who said he was a moron."
Ms. Ducros‘s remark triggered a flurry of outrage from opposition MPs and U.S. conservative commentators, but it is the Iraqi editorial that appears to illustrate just how international the incident has become.
The controversy began on Wednesday, when Ms. Ducros, speaking to a CBC reporter in a media briefing room, called Mr. Bush a moron for using the NATO summit to try to garner support for a potential war against Iraq.
National Post Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife, who was also present, reported the remarks.
Ms. Ducros later apologized for the comment, saying in a statement that it did not reflect her view of the U.S. President. She also offered to resign, but Mr. Chrétien refused to accept the offer.
"She has apologized to me," the Prime Minister said on Friday. "I don‘t think it is a major offence to the point that she should be fired."
Ms. Ducros‘s previous boss, the former Liberal Cabinet minister Brian Tobin, agreed, saying yesterday that although she made a "stupid, dumb, moronic" comment, the slip was not enough to cost her her job.
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© Copyright 2002 National Post
National Post
Monday, November 25, 2002
The official newspaper of Iraq‘s ruling party yesterday described George W. Bush as "Clown George" -- justifying its portrayal by noting that Jean Chrétien‘s spokeswoman said the U.S. President is "a moron."
The editorial, published in the Baath Party‘s daily Ath-Thawra, will likely do little to help smooth Canada-U.S. relations, which appeared to suffer a severe setback when Françoise Ducros, the Prime Minister‘s communications director, criticized Mr. Bush during last week‘s NATO summit in Prague.
"The United States ... thinks that its policies can scare the world and force it to submit to the U.S. will, but in fact, it is the opposite that happened," the editorial reads. "Bush has become the most hated person in the world and who is given all sorts of bad names, especially in the West like the Canadian Prime Minister‘s spokeswoman ... who said he was a moron."
Ms. Ducros‘s remark triggered a flurry of outrage from opposition MPs and U.S. conservative commentators, but it is the Iraqi editorial that appears to illustrate just how international the incident has become.
The controversy began on Wednesday, when Ms. Ducros, speaking to a CBC reporter in a media briefing room, called Mr. Bush a moron for using the NATO summit to try to garner support for a potential war against Iraq.
National Post Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife, who was also present, reported the remarks.
Ms. Ducros later apologized for the comment, saying in a statement that it did not reflect her view of the U.S. President. She also offered to resign, but Mr. Chrétien refused to accept the offer.
"She has apologized to me," the Prime Minister said on Friday. "I don‘t think it is a major offence to the point that she should be fired."
Ms. Ducros‘s previous boss, the former Liberal Cabinet minister Brian Tobin, agreed, saying yesterday that although she made a "stupid, dumb, moronic" comment, the slip was not enough to cost her her job.
[email protected]
© Copyright 2002 National Post
