Kouchner in Baghdad

The French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, is in Baghdad. It is the first visit there by a French Foreign Minister since Halabja in 1988, and by any French government official since the invasion.

According to this article (in Italian), he said, that it was

my priority since I entered the government [and] I would be lying if I said that the initiative didn't come from me.

From an AP article

"It was necessary to be here," Koucher said as he wrapped up his three-day trip. "Everyone knows that the Americans cannot bring this country out of difficulty all alone."

To which should be added, from the Il Foglio piece

It is our with to stand side by side with this great country, which is indispensable to the stability and to the birth of democracy in the region.
[My emphasis]

They sound like the right kind of noises to me.