Four Great Short Stories!
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 When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin
 Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if
 Our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire
 Building by George Bush.

 He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United
 States has sent many of its fine young men and women
 Into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our
 Borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked
 For in return is enough to bury those that did not
  Return?

       It became very quiet in the room.



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 There was a conference in France where a number of
 International engineers were taking part, including
 French and American. During a break one of the
 French engineers came back into the room saying
 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done?
 He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help
 The tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb
 Them?'

 A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our
 Carriers have three hospitals on board that can
 Treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered
and can supply emergency electrical power to
 Shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with
 The capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day,
 They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh
 Water from sea water each day,

 And they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
 Transporting victims and injured to and from their
 Flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many
 Does France have?'

       Once again, dead silence.

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 A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference
 That included Admirals from the U.S. , English,
 Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a
 Cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a
 Large group of Officers that included personnel from
 Most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away
 In English as they sipped their drinks but a French
 Admiral suddenly complained that, 'Whereas
 Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only
 English.' He the n asked, 'Why is it that we always
 Have to speak English in these conferences rather
 Than speaking French?'

 Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied
 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies
 And Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to
 Speak German.'

  You could have heard a pin drop



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 AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

 A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently
 Went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly
 Gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.

 At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate
 His passport in his carry on. 'You have been to
 France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked
 Sarcastically.

 Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France
 Previously.

 'Then you should know enough to have your passport
 Ready.'

 The A merican said, 'The last time I was here, I
 Didn't have to show it.'

 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your
 Passports on arrival in France !'

 The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard
 Look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came
 Ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help
 Liberate t his country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen
 To show it to.