Before the Iraqi war, France attempted to use its vote to block the U.S. coalition from fulfilling what the Security Council (including France) had already unanimously agreed to (Resolution 1441). President Bush chose to ignore the United Nations and did what he thought he had to do for American security. The American-led coalition quickly drove a dangerous madman from power.

Chirac attempted to garner favorable world public opinion by standing resolutely against the United States' bid to overcome the Iraqi threat. His miscalculation backfired. France became a negative byword on U.S. television, and American consumers avoided French products.

Now the French president is back, this time without a lot of flak. Late September headlines suggested that France could back a gradual power shift in Iraq, but on its terms. France said that it was willing to support a new UN resolution on Iraq if it calls for the actual transfer of sovereignty to the U.S.-appointed provisional government. Why is Jacques Chirac now more conciliatory?

France is one of the leaders of the European Union, a potential economic behemoth. As with any burgeoning confederation of nations, power shifts as time passes, and politicians want to be noticed and felt among equals.

Historically, France and Germany have been two of the most dominant powers on the European continent over the past few hundred years. Germany defeated France twice in the last century. Now they are brothers in an expanding European brotherhood.

Could France desire hegemony over the European Union? Could Jacques Chirac want the European nations to view him as the natural, gutsy leader of Europe? And could Mr. Chirac want the rest of the world to respect him for standing against America, then alternately appeasing the mightiest nation on earth? Psychologically, this good-cop, bad-cop technique could help position the French president as contender for leader of the free world.

Yet even Mr. Chirac probably has no idea where his efforts to position Europe as a world competitor to the United States could ultimately lead. The Bible clearly prophesies the rise of a new European-centered superpower supported by a great religious body (Revelation 13 and 17). One already exists; the other is in the process of forming. Out of that coalition will come a charismatic leader who will govern what will amount to a final revival of the Holy Roman Empire.

If you watch world news and compare it to Bible prophecy, you'll be able to read the handwriting on the wall when the time comes for that political superman to emerge. While Jacques Chirac seems an unlikely choice, this coming leader may follow in his footsteps. To learn more, request our free booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled. (Source: USA Today.)