Thursday, May 04, 2006

Norway banned from the treehouse

From First Draft, also via Norwegianity, another Bushian hissyfit:
U.S. President George Bush has declined to meet Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the White House, said reports reaching here from Oslo on Tuesday.

Bush's staff would not arrange the meeting because of the Norwegian left-center coalition government's criticism of the war in Iraq, and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen's support for a boycott of Israeli products, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).

Jan Petersen, who was Norway's foreign minister in the last center-right government, told NRK that he feared a phone conversation Stoltenberg had with Bush shortly after last fall's election put a damper on relations between the United States and Norway.

In the conversation, Stoltenberg told Bush that he would order the withdrawal of Norwegian officers from Iraq.

Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor at the University of Oslo, said her sources also indicate that Norway no longer is part of the "inner circle" at NATO.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the kind of thing that makes me wonder what Bush thinks the job of president is.

Any job means that you meet with the relevant people. It doesn't matter whether you like them or not.

Didn't the Bushies say something about getting adults in charge?

CKR

helmut said...

It's starting to look to me like those countries that disagree with Bush - apart from the openly hostile - are the Cool Country Club.

roxtar said...

helmut:

I had just the opposite take. Chimpy and his toadies are like the jocks in the high-school cafeteria; Norway....I'm thinking Goth.....

helmut said...

Norway's the Debate Team.