Faux Pas

Colin Powell was making the case in the Security Council that the United States had no imperial ambitions in Iraq … saying that “the United States never acquired territory by conquest.” “There was a member of the Security Council sitting in front of Mr. Powell whose country lost half of its territory to a conquest by the United States,” Aguilar Zinser said. “That amazed me. Even for diplomatic purposes you don’t say something like that in front of the Mexican ambassador.”