[LINK] OT - Confusion over geopolitical identity

[Jan Whitaker]

So much for being a member of the Coalition of the Willing.  funny how the 
word 'willing' has dropped out of the news, too.  It caught my attention 
that it appeared again in this story.  Of course that is the point of the 
story, so I guess they couldn't leave it out....


>WASHINGTON (AFP) - Eager to present the war on Iraq (news - web sites)
>as a worldwide effort, the United States has taken to releasing on an
>almost daily basis an ever-growing list of the members of the so-called
>"coalition of the willing."
>
>But the list, available on the White House website
>(www.whitehouse.gov), has created nearly as much confusion as it has
>cleared up, as some countries have disavowed membership, demanded
>inclusion or reacted angrily to snide commentary about their value as
>partners in the conflict.
>
>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030329/wl_mideast 
>_afp/iraq_war_us_coalition_030329190003)
>
>One of the best parts, for which I can't now find the reference, is
>that Slovenia (which opposes the war) was about to be given the bribe
>money that was supposed to go to Slovakia (part of the coalition of the
>killing). The error wasn't noticed until the Prime Minister of Slovenia
>asked what the money was for. The rumour I heard was that someone
>thought that Slovenia was Slovakia. Somebody's map needs to be updated.
>
>I suppose the confusion can be forgiven to some extent. The list
>itself, on the White House site, seems to well-populated with small
>countries that you don't often hear about.

JLWhitaker Associates
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at melbpc.org.au  --  http://member.melbpc.org.au/~jwhit/whitentr.htm 
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