Posted on 01/24/2003 9:42:40 AM PST by FBD
"To the French lying is simply talking" -- Fran Lebowitz
January 24, 2003: The utopian fantasists in our State Dept., having persuaded Pres. Bush to place his faith in the UN are now obliged to face reality. Will they?
Colin Powell, the chief utopian, argued against deposing Saddam in 1991 in favor of the wishful fantasy that military defeat would be sufficient to defang him. It wasn't, because in Saddam's psychopathic world of brute force, survival against the United States constitutes victory and is concrete evidence of our weakness. Saddam would never allow an enemy to escape alive if he had the opportunity to kill him, for it would indicate weakness and would embolden his foes. Consequently, after the '91 war, he redoubled his efforts to acquire devastating weaponry against what he sensed was a pusillanimous foe, while we politely looked away. The danger steadily grew in the 1990's while our then President turned his attention to more pressing matters, like obtaining sexual favors from interns in the oval office.
Meanwhile, despite his disastrous advice in 1991, Colin Powell rose to ever greater power. He proved himself the quintessential diplomat whose faith lies in written agreements and who believes the way to peace is via empathic concern for our adversaries. Powell is a gifted, smooth-as-silk negotiator, who seems to have persuaded the President to treat the UN as a serious international body, rather than what it is -- a collection of mostly authoritarian and autocratic governments run by thugs with more in common with Saddam than with us. The nature of this body was again made clear by the recent overwhelming election of Libya to head the UN Human Rights commission. This placed the UN beyond parody. Yet our State Dept utopians continue to pay deference to the many countries in that august body, including some of our putative "allies," who were only too happy to see the United States suffer the blows of 9-11.
The one benefit of our seemingly endless diplomacy at the UN is the emergence of a new clarity about our "allies," France and Germany. They are working tirelessly to persuade the world that the great threat to global security emanates not from Iraq, but from the power of the United States. By appeasing Saddam through the farcical Hans Blix "inspections" (Hans Blix seems able to find his table at Rao's more easily than he can locate Baghdad), they pursue a policy that enmeshes us in endless UN process and requires us to ask permission before we can act. And while the leaders of France and Germany speak of 'peace,' what they have in mind is postponing action by the United States indefinitely. They are effectively supporting Saddam, hoping -- in the time-warmed tradition of European appeasement -- that he will turn his anthrax and Sarin against the United States rather than against his European trading partners. No doubt they will express eloquent sympathy when the U.S. counts the casualties in the next bioterror assault, courtesy of Saddam's laboratories.
And what of the endless cant about not going to war except as a last resort? Have we forgotten we are at war, a war declared on us on 9-11, that Saddam continues to wage war on his own people and on American and British pilots, and that he quite openly supports suicide terror aimed at America's one democratic ally in the Middle East?
This writer believes that it requires no Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Saddam is intimately involved with anti-American terror groups around the globe. With all this, the behavior of France and Germany can best be understood as dupicitous acts of realpolitik by countries lacking in military might, aimed at taming and weakening America's global power. And if you don't buy that rationale, then another powerful explanation has been offered by Steven den Beste who suspects that France and Germany wish to conceal the fact that for years, in violation of the UN embargo, they've been selling Saddam the building blocks for his WMD programs.
Countries change their national character about as readily as individuals. For example, William Safire documents the treachery of the French, who played Colin Powell like a violin, assuring him of support and then turning on him. Yet Powell insisted to Jim Lehrer that he had not been sandbagged by the French. Not at all; perhaps it had all been a misunderstanding that requires a bit more consultation and discussion over a fine Burgundy.
We would suggest that our diplomats be forced to read Mark Twain on the French. Long before the French added the art of appeasement to their highly developed art of cuisine he commented: "There is nothing lower than the human race -- except the French." He added: "The French are the connecting link between man & the monkey."
However, if our multicultural diplomats find Mark Twain politically incorrect and therefore not worth reading, I would then recommend the contemporary wit, Fran Lebowitz, who made the following observation: "The French probably invented the very notion of discretion. It's not that they feel that what you don't know won't hurt you, they feel that what you don't know won't hurt them. To the French lying is simply talking."
Hopefully even Colin Powell will awaken from his Dream of Reason -- the fantasy that all differences are due to misunderstandings and can be worked out through rational dialogue. If he doesn't, let's hope the President takes the policy reins out of the hands of the utopians and places them in the hands of the realists -- Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Cheney. The hour is late, the peril grows, and the temporizers are gaining strength. Peace follows victory. Hurry up please, it's time.
Stephen Rittenberg, Co-Publisher, Horsefeathers
Everyone on the inside of the administration, including Colin Powell, knew what that would do to the entire Middle seast and they knew we had no credible answer for it and were not prepared to prevent it. After the inspectors went in, we found out that he did have 'other things' he could have sprinkled around the Middle East. Blaming Powel for suddenly turning 'dovish' is absurd in light of these facts. We were blackmailed.
This time around, we will not be blackmailable in the same sense. We will prevent the scud launches with technology the Iraqis cannot counter. That's why this nation will not be told of the close hour for jump time. Probably three hours into the assault, the president will inform the nation ... but CNN will already have aired the start by driving to Jordan to post.
That the entire of the democrat party seems unable to grasp the notion of blackmail tells us a lot about the rats ... they know all this and still claim they see no reason to attack Iraq.
In fact, the Vikings dominated the Normandy area of France so much, that King Charles III gave it to them. (911 A.D.)
Look it up, it was the first Normandy invasion. LOL :^D
--French
You should put your quotes inside sarcasm tags, so that square-headed Norwegians like myself who don't understand subtle humor will not go on a tangent on you, FRiend! Here, let's try it and see what happens.
[sarcasm on]""You can work within the UN as a member, or simply withdraw from the UN, and even NATO. I certaily think that the US is a huge market, and the only super-power, it need not to sit next to raghead country as an equal. In the mean time, as long as we are a member, we should afford all countries, including scumbag dictatorships respect and equality." [sarcasm /off]
There;...Oh see, NOW I get your joke...LOL! [;^)
Ah, you were joking right...?
OK, Karl. I'm going to give the French their due in respect to culture, in this post. I would argue that the Romans gave us more. I mean we did pattern our gov. & legal system after theirs, no? (Although I question the wisdom of having Senators, sometimes...;^)
But you French have definitly contributed to culture; French kissing comes to mind...
And hey, my favorite musical is Les Mis`erables...you should try casting as Inspector Javier, I think you'd be very good. You know, he was very series, very series, and very dogmatic...hmmm.
You French have the best Merlot; our American Merlots often have a grassy taste, for some reason.
And as for your cuisine, your French fries, toast, and dressing are the best in the world!!! No es cargot, thanks...
Well, off to work,
Sign me: Square-headed Norwegian, and nasty ignorant french basher. ;^D
PS. In spite of all their culture, Frogs just love Jerry Lewis...now something just ain't right there...
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