Ditto that. Let 'em stew in their own funky stench.
LE TOUQUET, France (AP) - Despite British lobbying, French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday said he remained steadfastly opposed to war against Iraq without giving U.N. weapons inspectors as much time they need to do their work.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair came to the seaside town of Le Touquet with the primary goal of persuading Chirac to back down from his anti-war stance and support a second U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military force against Baghdad.
But Chirac will continue to insist that inspectors be given as much time as they judge necessary.
In an interview on national television late last month, Chirac indicated he favored granting a request by the United Nation's chief inspectors for several more months to determine whether Saddam Hussein's government is hiding weapons of mass destruction.
There was no indication Tuesday that the timetable Chirac envisions for the weapons inspectors had changed.
"France is waiting to see what Colin Powell says tomorrow and what (weapons inspector Hans) Blix says on the 14th," Chirac said at a joint press conference with Blair.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, bidding for U.N. support, is set to present evidence Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council that Iraq has hidden large caches of weapons of mass destruction from international inspectors and has defied calls to disarm.
Despite their differences, both countries agree that Iraq must disarm and that the United Nations should remain the forum for deciding whether military action is undertaken, Chirac said.
Blair has been a key backer of the Bush administration's position that time is running out for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to give up weapons of mass destruction and that force may be the only way to disarm him. Britain has sent 35,000 troops to the Persian Gulf to prepare for a possible war.
Chirac, however, has been the lead advocate for a slower approach. He insists the decision on whether to go to war rests with the Security Council - not the United States.
Blair supports Bush's stance that U.N. backing might not be necessary. But his government has stressed that it would be better to win Security Council support, which means winning over France.
On an interview on France's RTL radio, British Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane said: "As a friend of France, I find it difficult to believe that France won't wind up supporting the authority of the United Nations."
On Monday, Blair told the British parliament that the United Nations could be discredited if it fails to follow through on demands that Saddam disarm.
"Show weakness now and no one will ever believe us when we try to show strength in the future," the British leader said.
Last week, eight European leaders, including Blair, wrote a statement of support for Bush that appeared in newspapers around the world, indirectly reprimanding France and Germany for mounting pressure against U.S. preparations for war. Germany has said flatly it would not participate in any military operation against Iraq.