INSIDE POLITICS
November 2002
Tape Shows Ari Fleischer
Called Jean Chretien a Bitch
Ottawa, CA | A tape recording obtained from an Ottawa newspaper reporter gives startling evidence that more than a few people were exchanging insults at last week's historic NATO summit in Prague.
Although it is still unclear who started the name-calling, a recorder was activated just as Prime Minister Jean Chretien's communications director Francoise Ducros muttered the words "What a moron," apparently in reference to U.S. President George W. Bush.
Over laughter and light applause, Bush's press secretary Ari Fleischer is clearly heard to reply, "Oh yeah? Well Chretien is a bitch."
After a brief silence, smattered with gasps and giggles, general chaos appears to have broken out. The noise of furniture being overturned can be heard on the tape, as well as breaking glass.
A voice identified as France's liaison de l'information is heard referring to British Prime Minister Tony Blair a "bucktoothed geek." Blair's undersecretary retorts by calling French President Jacques Chirac a "frog eating surrender monkey." There were also several unidentified voices calling German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a "drunken cabbage ass," Spain's President Jose Maria Anzar an "oily wetback," and Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul a "goat humping rag head."
After several minutes of yelling and slapping, the tape suddenly goes silent.
Repercussions from the incident are still being felt. However, Prime Minister Chretien has declined Ducros' offer of resignation, amid general consensus that her only offense was stating the obvious.
In an effort to smooth international relations, Chretien later said of Bush: "He isn't a moron, he's my friend."
Likewise, President Bush made it clear no action would be taken against Fleischer, saying of Chretien: "He may be a bitch, but he's MY bitch."
