appease appease appease
Posted on 12/21/2004 8:55:15 AM PST by repinwi
Of course you're entitled to your opinion and that does NOT make you a bad person, only a naive one. Moreover, not every opinion is worthy listening to, to put it mildly.
Merry Christmas.
Do you consider a nation whose primary foreign policy goal for the past 60 years has been (and continues to be) limiting the influence of the United States a friend? As I said in the previous post, I wouldn't go quite so far as to label France an actual enemy, but are certainly a power hostile to the interests of the United States. The only reason they're not challenging us more directly is they know their military can't play with the big dogs anymore. The Belgians are toy poodles to the French. The Germans are a more complicated case, I think there is more long term affinity with America than France. The Russians have almost always been allied with the French since the late 19th century, in fact or sub rosa as fellow travellers during the Cold War.
The price is yet to be determined for the French.
Oh no? Pick up any French newspaper and feel the love.
Europeans are our brother and sisters and must be reproached and guided into the road of righteouness, but not considered our enemies.
Afterall we share a lot in common: religion, culture, hsitory and tradition. Ours is an extention of European culture. Our country was founded on European/Christian principles by European and for European progeny. We are Europe's little brothers and sisters.
Written by a Frenchman for a French Audience - a very enlightening read:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893554856/qid=1103659484/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-7428078-4342316
He justified his heavy-handed rule along philosophical lines not unlike that which those had earlier called for: the need of the people to come under an "enlightenment", an absolute or "despotic" father-figure who would rule the people with an iron fist for their own best interests. He was careful to pay close attention to all the discussions of enlightenment thinking, sponsoring scientific research and giving the appearance of being an earnest contributor to the thinking of the scientists. This was what the ideal of "enlightened despotism" was supposed to be all about. The price to France, a state of economic and intellectual dependency on the massive French system. Indeed, the French state began to slide into economic disarray. They had lost much of their original spiritual character and had become a quite thoroughly political organization. They became closely involved in the political intrigue not only aimed against Protestants but also directed to the rise and fall of particular nations. They were politically astute--and dangerous to work with.(always have been)
If you think this is about Chirac you may be partially right but it is also a story about the leadership in the second part of the 17th century belonging to France, under the rule of Louis XIV, the "Sun King." During his long and powerful reign (1643-1715) he forced the French aristocracy to surround him at his magnificent palace at Versailles, where he could keep close tabs on their doings; drove the Protestants (300,000 Huguenots) from France--eliminating France's best source of middle-class industrial skill in the process; and built up a grand display of royal splendor in palaces and military organizations (and in wars which used them), which left the French people gasping under the tax load.
Read the book,`Our Oldest Enemy A History of America's Disastrous Relationship with France` by John Miller and get back to me. It's a real eye opener.
"The French are not our allies or even sympathetic"
Last time I checked that was the French Gov't.
The US allows abortion.. would you say that every American supports abortion?
Just something to consider.
I'll take a note of that book and see if I can find it in the library. If the above phony caption is the cover of the book, however, I'll venture to assume the book is propaganda and written by an anti Christian, anti European intent on divinding us.
America vs France. France vs Britain. Germany vs Russia. We got to stop fighting amongst ourselves.
And the French people don't elect the French government? Sorry, no sale. They make some great wine (and a lot of plonk!), some fine cheese and have an interesting cuisine. They had some composers worth listening too in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A few performers, a cinematographer or three, but not a philosopher worth reading since Bergson (and he wasn't very good) nor a novelist since Proust (and I don't like him). One can construct a fairly convincing interpretation of world history that shows that everything that has gone wrong since 800 was the fault of the French.
Europeans are inadvertently funding the insurgency by paying ransoms. The Italians did it. At first they LIED about paying the ransom, but later came clean. Now the French are paying, and Americans sit around asking how the insurgent fund their operations: The US government says IT MUST BE IRAN OR SYRIA. It’s Europe stupid!
"America vs France. France vs Britain. Germany vs Russia. We got to stop fighting amongst ourselves."
Stop fighting amongst ourselves: What the hell are you talking about? Fighting France is not fighting amongst ourselves, if you didn't notice we are two different countries.
If the only issue is that the terrorists freed hostages, then yes, that is a wonderful thing, frogs or not. If it is discovered that the frogs paid money, then I do not think it is a good thing.
I spent some time for work in the Philippines and came back just days before some foreigners were taken hostage from that area by terrorists. It was my understanding before I went, while I was there, and before I came home that the US does not make deals with terrorists. I don't agree with rewarding terrorists and I would not have expected the US to deal with terrorists.
The euro-wimps have no such standards. See how Spain has benefited from their deal? Have they had terrorist attacks since then?
Its not wether they agreed with us or not and it does not matter. It concerns their collaboration with Saddam, the oil for food scandel, among other things. Farce in particular is trying to get an EU-China axis going to "counter" American power. farce is also allowing known terrorists who are based in paris to go to Iraq to join the insurgency. How is Chiraq in any way a friend?
I am glad they are okay too (Sharia Law is bad for everyone, but the frogs still think they can appease), but that changes nothing between the US and FARCE.
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