Lebanese army attack on extremists would be 'fair' : french FM

The Tocqueville Connection ^ | 05/25/2007

[Republicain]

BEIRUT, May 25, 2007 (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday that a Lebanese army decision to crush armed Islamist extremists holed in a camp in northern Lebanon in a military action would be "fair."

"We back the government and the army, let them take their decision. The decision is up to them, and if they take such a decision it would be fair," he said at a press conference before ending a two-day trip to Lebanon.

But he warned that "the consequences are always difficult to calculate."

"I hope that if they take this decision, to attack the camp, let this happen after the evacuation of as many civilians as possible, which is absolutely necessary and is already taking place," he said.

His visit comes at a time when the country's army and a tiny Islamist militant group are facing off at a refugee camp in the north of the country after three days of fighting that killed at least 78 people.

Since the clashes started on Sunday, more than half of the Nahr al-Bared camp residents have fled the shantytown to seek safe haven in nearby areas.

Kouchner, on his first trip abroad since being appointed less than a week ago, met Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and other political and religious officials during his stay in Lebanon.

[IslandJeff]

What’s gotten into France lately? Send some over here.

[IslandJeff]

Seriously, if Sarkozy has an elective mandate, France could be a huge Point Man in the regional geopolitics.

I love it. Keep it up. Vive la Francais.

[Joe Boucher]

Pali extremists should be exterminated.
The Palis have been crap wherever they’ve gone for generations. Then they get booted from whatever host country for being such dirt.

[wgflyer]

Aside from the pacifistic streak the French have displayed over the past many years, this particular sentiment they express does not surprise me, not since Sarkozy was elected, anyway. Most Lebanese I met spoke french better than the French. Christian Lebanon has a strong bond with France.

America had a great chance to do some good in Lebanon during the civil war, but we chose retreat. Had we acted forcibly there, then, Lebanon would be a powerhouse of freedom and democracy now. Now, they aren’t very fond of us, and with good reason.