By Patrick J. Buchanan
In July of 1870, King Wilhelm sent Foreign Minister Bismarck an
account of his meeting with a French envoy who had demanded that the
king renounce any Hohenzollern claim to the Spanish throne.
Bismarck edited the report to make it appear the Frenchman had
insulted the king, and that Wilhelm rudely dismissed him. The Ems
Telegram precipitated the Franco-Prussian war Bismarck wanted.
Words matter. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, how much greater impact can a motion picture have? We are finding out.
