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Posted on 07/06/2004 12:43:51 AM PDT by VRWCer
Bill O'Reilly: No brie for me By BILL O'REILLY, Creators Syndicate July 5, 2004
Enough with France. That country is not a friend to the USA, or to peace-seeking Iraqis and Afghans. French President Jacques Chirac continues to block efforts by the USA and Britain to bring stability to former dictatorships and make it more difficult for homicidal terrorists to operate. Take a look at Chirac's recent resume:
— Last week he blocked a newly created NATO strike force from going to Afghanistan to provide extra security for elections. Chirac said: "(the strike force) should not be used for troop shortages on routine operations."
— Chirac continues to insist that any NATO training of Iraqi forces be done outside that country. Of course that would create a logistical nightmare, not to mention enormous extra cost.
— In Istanbul last week, Chirac again refused to consider Turkey as an allied partner. You may remember in February 2003, France vetoed any NATO defense of Turkey in case it was attacked by Saddam.
— According to the London Times, and not denied by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke on my television program, France lied to Colin Powell in the run-up to the Iraq war. Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin apparently told Powell France would support military action against a defiant Saddam, and then reneged at the last minute. Many analysts believe that action gave Saddam hope that war would not come and led to his disastrous decision to continue violating U.N. weapons-inspection procedures.
— Instead of attending the funeral of Ronald Reagan as Tony Blair and others did, Chirac passed on the event, even though he was in Georgia 24 hours before the commemoration in Washington, just an hourlong plane ride away.
Even if one opposes the war in Iraq, a humane, clear-thinking person would have to want peace and freedom in that country. But time and time again, Jacques Chirac has made it more difficult for that to happen.
Of course he is doing it to spite President Bush. But he's also doing it because his approval rating in France now stands at 35 percent, according to a recent poll. Chirac apparently believes he can rebuild his support at home by being anti-American.
The consequence of that strategy is that American lives are being lost, and things are made easier for the terror killers. Iraq and Afghanistan will never be free of totalitarianism unless there is security in those countries. But Jacques doesn't care about that. Jacques cares only about Jacques, and I've had enough.
So no more brie for me. No more Evian, Air France, Provence and no more escargot, which I don't like anyway. As a free American, I am using my economic choice to send the French government a message. I am boycotting French goods and services, and hope you will do the same. As they say in Brooklyn, which is not similar to Paris, Chirac is a bum.
The big dog-and-pony D-Day show last month in Normandy was a cynical exercise. Bush and Chirac despise each other, and Jacques' hope that W loses in November is driving his agenda. Meantime, innocent civilians get their heads chopped off by terrorists, and Jacques can't help out. As his role model Marie Antoinette once said: "Let them eat cake."
There is a slight chance that the oil-for-food scandal will expose France as being a corrupt enabler of Saddam. Remember, the bank where all the bribe money was stashed is in Paris and some FOJ's (friends of Jacques) made millions dealing with Saddam and his sons. I have little confidence the United Nations will get to the bottom of this, but I am praying for a miracle. In the meantime, I have another Brooklynism for the despicable Jacques Chirac: You know what you can do with your Eiffel Tower, pal.
Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" To find out more about Bill O'Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. This column originates on the Web site www.billoreilly.com. COPYRIGHT 2004 BillOReilly.com.
None for me either.
I heard somewhere that John Kerry is dual citizenship in
France? Does anyone know if that is true?????
For those rare occasions, I'll have American wine. All of the Euro-wine stinks.
No great loss, that.
Take a look over at Epinions.com, or the Better Business Bureau of Southern Florida web site (AF U.S. operates out of Ft. Lauderdale).
They mislead me on during the reservations process, it took several months and dozens of phone calls to get a ticket refund, and they make it nearly impossible to speak with a human being about the ticket refund procedure.
London,
The train was very crowded, so the soldier walked the length of the train,
looking for an empty seat. The only unoccupied seat was directly adjacent
to a well dressed middle-aged French lady and was being used by her little
dog.
The war weary soldier asked, "Please ma'am, may I sit in that seat?"
The French woman looked down her nose at the soldier, sniffed and said,
"You Americans..You are such a rude class of people. Can't you see my little
Fifi is using that seat?"
The soldier walked away, determined to find a place to rest, but after
another trip down to the end of the train, found himself again facing the
woman with the dog.
Again he asked, "Please lady, may I sit there? I'm very tired."
The French woman wrinkled her nose and snorted, "You Americans! Not only
are you rude, you are also arrogant."
The soldier didn't say anything else; he leaned over, picked up the little
dog, tossed it out the window of the train and sat down in the empty seat.
The woman shrieked and railed, and demanded that someone defend her and
chastise the soldier.
An English gentleman sitting across the aisle spoke up, "You know sir, you
Americans do seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You eat
holding the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your cars on the wrong side
of the road. And now, sir, you've thrown the wrong bitch out the window.
At this rate Bill O'Reilly will be in Heaven two years before he knows he's dead.
LOL! Very good. I copied & sent to all my friends.
"I'll have American wine.."
The American wine industry is booming. Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, in addition to Calif, NY, Oregon, Wash., etc., are making some great wine. We quit drinking French wine during the first French boycott and don't miss it a bit. It gave us an opportunity to try wine made in the USA.
I'm getting a little bit annoyed at O'Reilly's hyperbole when he says that France is 'hurting' the United States. Hurting? How about a little perspective, O'Reilly? France is not hurting us. They are an annoyance and a POA. But France is weak, in decline, and thowing a hissy fit in the only way it knows how. It's pathetic and I have no respect for France. I must have a higher threshold of pain than O'Reilly does - because I don't feel 'hurt' at all - just annoyed.
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The U.S. and The People's Republic of La-La-Kennedyland
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