Posted on 09/20/2001 12:53:52 AM PDT by Born in a Rage
Chirac calls on U.N. to lead fight against terrorism
UNITED NATIONS (September 19, 2001 8:57 p.m. EDT) - French President Jacques Chirac urged the United Nations on Wednesday to lead the charge against terrorism, declaring it should be a long-term battle that goes beyond military action - targeting the perpetrators and root causes.
In responding to last week's attacks, he said, the United States must make sure it follows two rules: Identify the fundamentalist terrorist groups responsible and bring them to justice, and don't finger-point at the predominantly Muslim Arab world.
Chirac, who met President Bush in Washington Tuesday, flew over the ruins of the World Trade Center in a helicopter with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani before holding a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Chirac sidestepped a question on whether France would support any U.S. military action, saying his government would evaluate the situation and consult its allies.
"France, I can tell you, will not stand aside against a scourge that defies all democracies," he said. "Today, it's New York that was tragically struck, but tomorrow it may be Paris, London, Berlin.
"But, I repeat, the action to be accomplished is something that by far transcends military action. It is really a question of genuine, coordinated, long-term action in order to eradicate terrorism," he stressed.
The Bush administration has embarked on an all-out campaign to build an international coalition against terrorism. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said Wednesday that this would be his top priority.
Chirac said the United Nations is the best body to "mobilize our energy" to root out terrorism, which he called the "absolute priority in the world today."
It will require increased resources, determination and above all cooperation of an international community committed to defending itself "against murderers," he said. It will also mean strengthening the police, the judiciary, the military, and global telecommunications and aviation organizations, as well as the fight against "dirty money that finances terrorism."
Annan said there is a possibility of a ministerial meeting on terrorism, which could create another legally binding treaty to fight the phenomenon. There are already 12 U.N. conventions and protocols - in effect since 1963 - which cover hijacking, funding terrorism and hostage-taking.
He warned against the tendency emerging in some "limited quarters" to point fingers at Muslims, Middle Easterners or dark-skinned people as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying this would not only divide multicultural nations like the United States and Britain, but would lead to "a fight between the Islamic and non-Islamic world."
The international coalition to fight terrorism must embrace as many countries as possible, Annan said, and the battle must also focus on the root causes - "conflict, poverty, ignorance and racism."
How they will mesh that with the fierce French independence remains to be seen.
The U. S. didn't suddenly produce poverty in the world. By its successes it merely created an new economic standard by which relative affluences is measured. There is no fault in that.
The fault lies in systems and corruption that result in povety. Under multicultural entitlement that is a forbidden subject. Talk about poverty as a root cause is generally an encoded expression of infantile jealousy and resentment.
Neither did the U. S. invent conflict. Many current conflicts are an extension of conditions or doctrins or attitudes that existed before Columbus ventured to America.
I agree, Mad. Besides, it's my understanding that these terrorists aren't poor nor 'dumb'. They've sure got enough money to pay for flight schools and travel....and enough knowledge to know how to patiently plan their attacks.
Conflict: Yes. When the terrorists are at ease, that's when they are able to plan. When they are on the run, they can't. But they do like to exploit conflicts, such as the one in the former Yugoslavia.
Poverty: No. Usama is LOADED
Ignorance: No. They spend years studying their Koran, they know how to make complex explosives, how to use our high tech devices, and they know how to blend in to our society.
Racism: YES! They are racist sonsa'b*tches, or, more specifically, "Theicidal," wanting to wipe out all non-Islamist faiths.
I have noticed! The UN has been totally absent from all this, he's really knocking its credibility.
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