Posted on 09/22/2007 2:29:21 PM PDT by Republicain
WASHINGTON: For anyone still doubting the striking turnabout in U.S.-French relations, it was enough to see the reception Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner got during a speech here before his meetings Friday with top Bush cabinet officials.
Kouchner, who made news this week by warning that a failure to resolve mounting tensions with Iran could mean war, had barely begun speaking Thursday in a crowded hotel ballroom when several antiwar protesters jumped up and unfurled pink banners that read: "Bush + Kouchner = Warmongers!" One woman tried to climb onto the stage.
Guards escorted the protesters away as they shouted, "No war with Iran! No war with Iran!"
More than one jaw dropped in the dark-suited crowd of about 400. Kouchner is a Socialist who joined the rightist government of President Nicolas Sarkozy and is also a founder of the Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian group Médecins sans Frontières.
Kouchner, however, quickly took command. "But they are right," he told the crowd. As the chants continued from beyond the closed doors, he offered an undiplomatic, "But I agree, stupid!" drawing laughter. He directed the guards to let the protesters return.
The energetic 67-year-old minister then spent much of his speech - as he had spent much of the week - explaining what he meant last Sunday when he told a radio interviewer, referring to the crisis over Iran's uranium-enrichment work, "It is necessary to prepare for the worst," and "the worst, it's war."
On Thursday, as the surprised members of the antiwar group Code Pink filed back into the room, Kouchner said, "I'm not in favor of war with Iran, I want to prevent the war - so they were right!"
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
I must assume its snowing in Hell right now.
Why can our side be let in too, to counter these things with too much time on their hands????? How do they pay their bills, if they are always protesting???????/Just Asking - seoul62.........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.