Bush offers olive branch, nipped in the bud by Chirac

The Sun Newspaper Online - UK's biggest selling newspaper - Chirac KO's Bush offer:
"Referring to divisions over the Iraq war, the re-elected US leader said: 'Whatever our past disagreements, we share a common enemy. I will continue to reach out to our partners in the EU.'"

French president Jacques Chirac showed his appreciation for Bush's gracious statement by announcing that he will make an early exit from Brussels to avoid a meeting of Iraqi interim PM Iyad Allawi with European leaders. He did, however, find time to visit the deathbed of the ailing terrorist Yasir Arafat, a fellow beneficiary of the largesse of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.