Weapons of Mass Diplomacy

Following 9/11, President Bush’s “War on Terror” with plans to invade Iraq erupted into a cultural clash between French reluctance and American assurance over the case for “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” In Weapons of Mass Diplomacy, diplomat Abel Lanzac reveals the tension and politics through a French insider’s point of view, with satirical humor that softens the controversial subject matter. Readers follow Lanzac’s fictionalized self, Arthur Vlaminck, a speechwriter for the French Foreign Minister. As part of a team of flamboyant ministerial advisors, he has been tasked with drafting France’s response to the growing international crisis in the Middle East, which is then delivered before the United Nations Security Council. A graphic milestone of diplomacy, Weapons of Mass Diplomacy—a bestseller in Europe—pro­vides a revelatory account of a period that saw French fries become “freedom fries” and an alternative perspective on the decisions leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.