Chirac Refuses to Attend Reagan's Funeral

Newsmax.com ^ | 6/09/04 | Carl Limbacher and theNewsmax.com staff

[kattracks]

Perhaps too busy still mourning the loss of his business partner Saddam Hussein, chief French quisling Jacques Chirac is not only refusing to attend former President Ronald Reagan's funeral on Friday, his government doesn't even list a representative who will attend.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are the only G-8 leaders who have confirmed plans to attend. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected as well, along with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin says he will not attend and is sending Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is expected.

Others on the list for the ceremony include former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Irish President Mary McAleese, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Acting Lithuanian President Arturas Paulauskas, former Polish President Lech Walesa, former Finnish President Mauno Koivisto, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Australian Governor General Maj. Gen. Michael Jeffrey, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster, Grenadan Governor General Sir Daniel Williams, former Danish Prime Minister Poul Schlueter, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Lars Engqvist and Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh.

[livius]

Do my eyes deceive me? MadIvan, it's good to see you back in these (not so sacred) precincts. It will be a pleasure to read your posts again.

[hobbes1]

Your Wish has already been granted.....LOL

[Protagoras]

Please, let me live to see the Fr*nch degrade into oblivion.

You did because they have.

No one told them yet, but it's done.

Actually, they have never meant anything meaningful since the Nazis conquered them in a few days in 1941.

[Reagan Man]

Chirac Refuses to Attend Reagan's Funeral

No one should be surprised.

[Semper Paratus]

Charles De Gaulle was the most prominent Leader to attend President Kennedy's burial.

Times have changed.

[MadIvan]

That's all right, dear old Winston wouldn't have wanted LBJ there anyway. Compare and contrast Winston's approach to war, to Johnson's "police action" in Vietnam.

Regards, Ivan

[BallyBill]

This may have been an order from RWR himself. No French unless they had apologized for not letting us use their airspace to kick Libyan ass.

[Rubber_Duckie_27]

At least Germany is sending Schroeder, plus our allies in Iraq seem to be very well-respresented by heads of state and other officials. It is only appropriate that a former President be honored by others of stature in the world community. (I don't consider the French to be world leaders, so they don't count.)

Good riddance to bad rubbish. I doubt anyone will miss Chirac's presence.

[LetsRok]

I've heard Lady Thatcher will be speaking by videotape. Is that in error or, if not, do you know why she'd be there, yet on tape?

Margaret Thatcher no longer speaks in public. She has had a few strokes and cannot take the strain. Her speech was taped a few years ago in preparation for this event.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

[Mister Baredog]

Perhaps too busy still mourning the loss of his business partner Saddam Hussein, chief French quisling Jacques Chirac is not only refusing to attend former President Ronald Reagan's funeral on Friday, his government doesn't even list a representative who will attend

GOOD!

[GrandEagle]

Has the Al Qaeda given him a signal
You may be on to something there....

[magua]

the frog is really a poulet.

[MadIvan]

One thing I simply do not understand is why Kerry seems to regard the French as an ally worth courting. Their military force is limited, the government is broke, they are thoroughly enervated as a nation - how could they possibly be of assistance in rebuilding Iraq, apart from fessing up what they sold their friend Saddam?

Regards, Ivan

[Paul Atreides]

Welcome back, Ivan! Has something been wrong with you, or a loved one?

[Lancey Howard]

[laconic]

Chirac and the French delegation will be doing what they feel most comfortable with: retreating back to France.

[kellynla]

Tell Chirac, that the reason their economy has declined dramatically is because I, like many, continue to boycott French vacations, Grey Goose vodka and French champagne...
Let him "stew" over that fact while he refuses to attend the funeral. :-]

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[blastdad51]

Lady Thacher has suffered a couple of strokes and has difficulty speaking. The Eulogy was recorded a couple of years ago to be played in case she passed on before the President. Lady Thacher is as class a lady as President Reagan was a gentleman.

May God bless the President and welcome him home.

[MadIvan]

I've been working extremely hard for the past year. I shan't bore anyone else with it, but it's a "trail of tears" type story involving a struggle against outsourcing the jobs of my people to India. Eventually, we lost, I changed jobs.

However, I had to come back for President Reagan, whose passing reminded me of much.

Regards, Ivan