Who has Saddam Hussein gassed/invaded/fired missiles at in 2003?
Do not get me wrong. Personally I think that the war against Saddam Hussein was just since he was a disgusting dictator or murderer. America did the world a great favor to eliminate this a**hole. Nevertheless he was no danger for Americans or for Europeans. He might have been a danger to other Arabs or for Iranians.
If we talk about the morality of your business contacts read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia
Is Saudi Arabia also one of those "new" democracies? Are women allowed to drive car in the meantime? BuHuHaHa!
Who has Saddam Hussein gassed/invaded/fired missiles at in 2003?
That's answering a question with a question, nevertheless I believe he fired missiles at our planes enforcing the no fly zones (maybe it was 2002.)
Anyway, it is more moral to do business with Saudi Arabia whose theocratic totalitarianism is domestic and cynical, than a meglomanic with a history of mass murder, aggression, support for terror and dreams of becoming a nuclear power.
I don't expect governments -- yours, mine or anyone's -- to behave like saints, but there should be an expectation among societies that recognize the rule of law and the undesirablilty of violence to condemn and isolate those nations that seek to export violence and expand their power. Iraq falls into that category and the Saudis don't.
What's most upsetting about France is that their leadership's defense of Hussein seemed more for their own benefit than their nation's.