French Aid Leaves Eiffel Tower for Iraq

AP | Wednesday, April 2, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

French Aid Leaves Eiffel Tower for Iraq

.c The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) - A convoy of trucks packed with 60 tons of blankets and food essentials pulled out from the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, marking the first batch of French humanitarian aid for Iraq.

The Paris landmark was chosen as a symbol for the mission, which was funded by about $180,000 in donations that poured in over the last week, according to Solidarite, the Paris-based aid group that organized the trip.

The caravan of three trucks headed east out of Paris toward Germany on a drive expected to take 10 days and cross seven countries before reaching the Iran-Iraq border.

From there, a team of aid workers already on the ground would help the convoy reach Irbil in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq and seek means of funneling the desperately needed aid deeper into the country, said Alain Boinet, director of Solidarite.

``I think the voyage will be difficult when we enter Iraq,'' Boinet said. ``But that's why we're going. Because it's a poor country in war that needs help.''

The donors' money was used to buy 5,000 blankets, eight tons of soap, 10 tons of protein biscuits, water purification kits, sugar, tea and plastic sheeting. Solidarite plans to dispatch a second convoy of equal size in the coming days.

International aid agencies fear that Iraq is facing a huge humanitarian problem because the war has shut off access to water and food.

[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, April 2, 2003

Quote of the Day by The Wizard

[Ingtar]

LOL - the only road that seems to be "open" is the one where we keep blasting convoys from Syria. I can picture the outcry if we mistake French for Jihadists on this road.

[timestax]

[oldcomputerguy]

It occured to me last night while watching a history of the Baath party that we may have been fighting the wrong countries all these years. The Baath party, which is similar to the communist party in its infiltration of ordinary life, had its origins in French educated "intellectuals" who took control of Iraq and Syria. This would even more explain the French "connection" to Iraq.

When you think about it, France has been heavily involved in almost all our wartime activities, back to the Revoluntionary War and the French/Indian wars. If you remove France from the world, you probably remove a good deal of wartime activity from WWI to WWII to Vietnam to Iraq, maybe even the reasons for these wars in some cases.

Maybe its time to take out France if we really want peace in the world.

[timestax]

[SquirrelKing]

They've sent enough "guns" time for a little "butter".

[mattdono]

...convoy of trucks packed with 60 tons of blankets...

Hmmm...I wonder what color the blankets are? White, maybe?

[Mister Baredog]

A convoy of trucks packed with 60 tons of blankets and food essentials pulled out from the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday, marking the first batch of French humanitarian aid for Iraq.

I hope we search the trucks thoroughly for weapons and contraband before allowing them into Iraq, we cannot TRUST the French.

[dirtboy]

The donors' money was used to buy 5,000 blankets, eight tons of soap

Gee, I never realized they knew what soap was in France.

[smokinleroy]

They never say if the aid is for the Iraqi civilians or the military!

[ken5050]

France lacks anairlift capability.....it'd have been easier to send it FedEx..

[Cagey]

French Aid Leaves Eiffel Tower for Iraq

Well, since nobody wants to go to Paris anymore I guess it would be good for Iraq's fledging tourist trade.

[No Truce With Kings]

Q. What do you call a French soldier marching on Baghdad?

A. An arms salesman.