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| Europe |
| France warns against Iran action, says military intervention would be ridiculous |
| 2003-10-18 |
| The US pursuit of forcible regime change is not a viable or safe policy in the dangerous world that exists after September 11, the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin So far we’re 2 for 2. In a wide-ranging critique of US policy in the Middle East and beyond, Mr De Villepin said that any military action against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons would be "absolutely ridiculous". Which is why, Sparky, we haven’t done that so far. He also said that, in spite of Thursday’s UN security council resolution giving the US-British force in Iraq a mandate, "the conditions for real progress on the reconstruction of Iraq are not complied with today... Reconstruction has to have a partner, you have to have real sovereignty in Iraq if you want to have the Iraqi people working with you." We seem to be managing so far. Mr De Villepin declined to commit France to providing reconstruction assistance at next week’s donors’ conference in Madrid, in spite of urgings to do so from Washington. Because they’re broke. Their deficit violates the EU guidelines for the 3rd year in a row. They don’t have it. While emphasising France’s desire to patch up relations with the US and to work with it on a range of international issues, the foreign minister also questioned Israel’s US-backed security policies. He said Europe should play a vital role in advancing the peace process, not least because of Europe’s close trade and aid links with The problem isn’t that force has been tried and found to have failed. It’s that force hasn’t been tried. The Israelis need to reach out and touch the Paleo leaders. "We think that using force, on the contrary, is going to... give new reasons to some people [like al-Qaida] to oppose "Unless you’re dealing with a former colony." "Of course, there are very difficult situations when human rights are concerned... we have known that in Kosovo He makes this up as he goes along, doesn’t he? After his visit, it was announced that Mr De Villepin and Mr Straw and the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, are to visit Tehran on Monday to try to defuse the nuclear arms row. To the annoyance of the Bush administration, Britain, France and Germany have offered to supply civilian nuclear technology to Iran in return for its abandoning any ambition to seek nuclear weapons capability. We’re annoyed because we learned from North Korea that you can’t trust thugs who promise to stop their nuclear programs in exchange for ’civilian nuclear technology’. And youse guys weren’t paying attention. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 Didn't we attempt 'appeasement' with Hitler back in the 30's. Didn't France learn back then that appeasement does not work with these people? At least Germany should remember it dammit! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-18 11:09:12 PM |
| #6 If you hate the Frogs like I do: www.fuckfrance.com |
| Posted by: Greg 2003-10-18 5:43:14 PM |
| #5 Can you believe this? The french make me want to puke... seriously they are despicable. They just announced to the world and specifically Iran that they don't have to listen to the UN and allow inspections of their nuclear program because the UN demands will not be backed by force if france has any say. They just made the world more dangerous yet again just by opening their ignorant mouths. Can we get these morons off the security council ASAP? Every day I despise the French more and more... I just don't know if they are completely stupid, completely immoral or some mix of both... |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2003-10-18 3:45:53 PM |
| #4 Hey, don't be too rough on the French. Le Pin serves a very useful function as the devil's advocate, when no rational person in most any other government wants to be embarrased to put forth such insane, self defeating, and self destructive plans for action. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-18 2:25:42 PM |
| #3 We’re annoyed because we learned from North Korea that you can’t trust thugs who promise to stop their nuclear programs in exchange for ’civilian nuclear technology’. And youse guys weren’t paying attention. Why would you expect France and Germany to care about this? If their dealings result in a mess in Iran, they sure as hell aren't going to bother cleaning it up, and would probably not be in any position to do so anyway. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-18 2:23:59 PM |
| #2 Jeepers... why is it that everything out of this Frog's mouth sounds like nonsensical claptrap? Is it the French language that jumbles up his thought processes so what comes out is a kind of "idea salad", or is he just stupid? Or is this a result of a profound moral bankruptcy permeating all of French culture? Inquiring minds want to know... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2003-10-18 2:07:20 PM |
| #1 Everything here indicates taking the appeasement approach to new and dizzying heights. What a load. Hmmm... So we have the PM's in a 69 and now the FM's in a menage a trois? WTF comes next? A daisy-chain of deefense? This really is getting out of hand. And I gave Straw credit for better taste. Sheesh. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-18 12:23:58 PM |