MAYBE COLIN POWELL IS EARNING HIS PAY: At least, somebody is doing a good job on the diplomatic front. First France gives up on criticizing U.S. moves against Iraq. Now this:

Britain and Italy have broken ranks with EU colleagues, saying they are willing to negotiate bilateral accords with the United States in a row over a new war crimes court, diplomats said.

“Some countries are ready to negotiate. Others are not. In public, the only two countries which have expressed a different position are Italy and the United Kingdom,” said one European diplomat.

“Berlusconi is trying to position himself as the best friend of the Americans, along with the British,” said a diplomat source in the sidelines of informal talks between EU foreign ministers in Elsinore, Denmark.

Note the catty tone. . . .