But is Mr Delors nonetheless at heart a patriotic Frenchman who views the inner core as a more convenient setting for France to dominate the political proceedings, as it did in the early days of the smaller European club?

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

And the strategy of Mr Barzani and his old rival, Jalal Talabani, who leads the Patriotic Union for Kurdistan, is to remain at the heart of the action, in the Iraqi capital.

ECONOMIST: The Kurds of northern Iraq

Like her mother, Lena Horne, who sang her heart out for the troops, Ms Buckley is as patriotic as they come.

ECONOMIST: Blacks in the American forces: Double V for victory | The