AP photo
Hey Jacques, can I get me a white flag here?
Posted on 01/15/2005 12:20:30 AM PST by kattracks
PARIS - Sen. John Kerry's French connection was treated as a liability during his bid for the U.S. presidency. On Friday, he used his popularity here to try to help rebuild strained ties between Paris and Washington, and expressed confidence that would happen.
The Massachusetts Democrat was in Paris at the close of a tour of Europe and the Middle East that included trips to Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank.
In a more than 45-minute meeting with President Jacques Chirac, the former presidential candidate discussed frayed relations between France and the United States.
``I'm convinced there's an opportunity here to bring that relationship closer,'' he said.
He and Chirac discussed Iraq, Iran and the Middle East peace process, Kerry told reporters.
``Succeeding in Iraq and winning the war on terror will take a global effort, and I have conveyed that in my meetings with heads of state in the Middle East and Europe,'' Kerry said in a statement. ``We all have a stake in the outcome of Iraq, and I believe they have a responsibility to do more.''
``This has been a good trip. It was very important for me personally to thank our brave men and women in uniform for their service and assess the situation in Iraq,'' said Kerry who visited U.S. forces in the volatile northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, forecast a meeting between Chirac and Bush. ``I hope President Bush [related, bio] will have an opportunity to meet the president,'' he told reporters. ``I'm confident that will happen, not just the meeting but the movement in the right direction.''
Kerry spoke English during the meeting and Chirac spoke French, presidential spokesman Jerome Bonnafont said. Kerry, accompanied by his daughter Vanessa, declined to speak in French to reporters, saying it was rusty.
Kerry has a Gallic clan in Saint-Briac-Sur-Mer, in western France, including cousin Brice Lalonde, a former environmental minister. As a boy, Kerry spent summers there. However, the relatives kept a low profile during the campaign so as not to spoil his chances.
France's adamant opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq left ties between Paris and Washington in tatters, and put France-bashing in vogue in the United States.
Kerry has a high sympathy rating in France where polls ahead of the U.S. election showed that he would have won by a landslide if the French could vote.
Kerry's meeting with Chirac came hours after talks in London with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the prospect of peace in the Middle East. He met Thursday with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
With the Jan. 30 Iraq elections on the horizon and the election of a new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, still fresh, Kerry's Middle East tour came at a critical time.
Kerry said he and Chirac ``talked about efforts we can make, all of us together, to try to guarantee the success of all our interests in the Middle East, which are very, very significant.''
In London, he told reporters the elections in Iraq were ``one marker'' on the road to democracy, but are not the ultimate goal.
In a remark that the French would appreciate, Kerry added: ``I believe there needs to be a larger political reconciliation, as well as a broader involvement of other countries in decision-making in order to build a greater stability in Iraq.''
Paris is trying to raise its profile on Iraq and make room for a French role. Severely strained ties between Paris and Washington over France's hard-line stance against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have limited the French voice. Chirac met here Thursday with Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer.
Kerry added: ``I believe there needs to be a larger political reconciliation...."
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Kerry creates havoc at beaches
;)
I sure hope our tax money isn't paying for him to visit FRANCE!
I wish someone would give him a good cup of STFU and slap him around like a mexican beaniebear until he barfed and didn't know if his azz was facing up or down..
What's Kerry's idea ? He think France is a friend ?
Gee .. he didn't have a problem speaking french to the Haitians in Florida during the campaign
What is this fool up to with meeting all these leaders of these countries?
This smells and it smells bad
"mexican beaniebear" -hahaha, I like that ;)
I believe kerry needs to stay there and not come back
That's good .
:-)
This is his conduct after losing the election; one can only wonder what God-like statements he would be making if he'd won.
Thanks :)
Maybe he'll meet up with our enemies like he did in 197x?
I want to know what he's really up to ...
There is no reason for him to be having meetings with so many leaders of countries
Before this election, he was a nobody in the Senate ... heck he couldn't even show up for work .. and now he's all over the place having meetings
This does not pass the smell test
AP photo
Hey Jacques, can I get me a white flag here?
Silly me. I thought the Executive branch of government was the one that was the American interface for foreign relations.
is he still wearing his JFK ties??
Our tax money has been bank rolling the whole trip from start to finish!
Kerry's present actions are seditious AND treasonous.
"Kerry's present actions are seditious AND treasonous"
Amen
He is predictable and despicable.
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