Oh, Bro-o-o-ther!

But perhaps that's too weak a word for the following.

According to this morning's Daily Telegraph, in yet another story derived from Iraqi intelligence files, the French government assisted "Iraqi and Arab brothers" to crash a human rights conference on Iraq being held in Paris on April 14, 2000. This human rights conference was being held in a hotel, a hotel named the "Hotel La Concorde Lafayette".

Further comment should be superfluous. But what the heck, let's vituperate! The irony here is so vicious that it gives me whiplash to read this article. And it shows, I think, a way forward.

We obviously cannot move all of our war-dead back to the United States. For one thing, I want the French to have to look a their graves on a regular basis. But there is one American veteran and general who we could bring back: Joseph Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Someone should seek the consent of his family, such as remains, to move the Marquis' remains to Mount Vernon, where they can be interred by the side of the man he regarded as his father. It would be a fitting tribute to both men in time for the 225th anniversary of Yorktown. It could even be regarded as a expression of hope and trust for Franco-American relations. But, as far as I am concerned, it would be getting one of our own back.