Gulf War II: Dept of Unintended Benefits to Weasels

Friday's WSJ:

1.
France and Germany may already be benefiting from a war in Iraq that both nations so fiercely oppose.

Until Thursday, the euro zone's two largest countries appeared on course to pay hefty fines for breaking strict rules that cap budget deficits. But just hours after U.S. bombs began falling on Baghdad, the European Union's budget policeman, European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes, said that the war is an "exceptional circumstance," a ruling that could partly unleash countries from a pact that prohibits deficits from exceeding 3% of gross domestic product.


2.
More than 51,000 Iraqis sought asylum last year, making them the largest single group to seek haven in industrialized countries.
[and of course with Saddam gone, those asylum claims lose their basis]