France's Chirac Says War in Iraq Not Inevitable (Chirac needs his meds!)

Reuters ^ | 2/26/03

[areafiftyone]

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac said Wednesday that a war in Iraq was not inevitable and disarmament could be reached by peaceful means.

"War is not inevitable, war is one of the worst solutions," Chirac told reporters after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

"France feels that it is possible to achieve this objective (of disarmament) in a peaceful way, that of inspections."

Spain this week backed a new U.N. draft resolution circulated by the United States and Britain which says Baghdad has missed a "final opportunity" to disarm peacefully and avoid war.

Chirac, who has led Western opposition to a military attack against Iraq, has said he sees no need for the new resolution. France, Germany and Russia have submitted an alternative proposal to give weapons inspectors more time.

Separately, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini Wednesday confirmed their joint desire for peaceful disarmament in Iraq and urged Iraq to comply actively with weapons inspectors.

[UncleSamUSA]

Here is the mantra Chirac and the French diplomats keep repeating over and over: "War is the worst solution.. war is the worst solution..."

Funny, that's exactly what the French said 62 years ago when they surrendered Paris to the Nazis without a fight.

[XJarhead]

I wonder how well inspections would work after we brought out 250,000 troops home. Or do the French expect us to keep them there indefinitely?

[mountaineer]

Perhaps Jacques should read War for Peace? It worked in my country, by José Ramos-Horta, East Timor's minister of foreign affairs.

[WillVoteForFood]

ChIraq doesn't care if a single WMD is ever found, as long as a regime that is friendly to French interests remains in power. For the French, who are truly in it for the oil, a few thousand dead and tortured Iraqis is but a small price to pay for lucrative business dealings with an oppressive regime.

[appalachian_dweller]

The worm and his surrender monkey subjects are just looking out for their own economic interests. The care not about the lives of their American protectors.

SCREW that POS country! I tired of their BS. George W. Bush WILL look out for our saftey as best he can regarless of what is crumby little has-been country says or does. God Bless him! It SO NICE to have a man of character for a leader.

[mass55th]

From my WWII desk calendar for this date:

On this day in 1945, a U.S. bomber raid made up of approximately 1,200 planes hits Berlin, Germany. German estimates places the number of casualties on the ground at between 25,000 to 30,000, mostly civilians.

Germany...take heed!

[dead]

Maybe if we're sufficiently critical of Chirac, he'll off himself like a weepy French chef.

[Petronski]

You see, Jacques, you think you are saving money on those generics, but sometimes they're not as effective. Go back to the name brand.

[sonofatpatcher2]

[Question_Assumptions]

Jacques, if you really want to stop the war, you need to talk to the one man who can do it, either by disarming or by leaving -- your old buddy Saddam. That's the only way this war is going to be avoided.

[prairiebreeze]

Interesting post. 25-30,000 civilian casualties. Even if that number was over-estimated by the Germans, it was likely substantial.

How times have changed. Can you even IMAGINE the uproar and outrage about that many war-induced civilian casualties now?

[mass55th]

"Can you even IMAGINE the uproar and outrage about that many war-induced civilian casualties now?"

Those were my exact thoughts as I was typing it on FR.

[MeekMom]

Chirac and "I'd-Rather-be-dead-than-Dan Rather" need to pull their bottom lips over the top of their heads and do us all a big favor and swallow!

[WOSG]

Critics of the United States give no credit to the Bush administration's aggressive strategy, even though it is the real reason that Iraq has allowed weapons inspectors to return and why Baghdad is cooperating a bit more, if it indeed is at all.

---

True!

[McGavin999]

If France vetos the resolution, I guarantee you that nobody will ever ask for UN help in a situation again. First of all, the US will never vote to allow their troops to participate in a UN "peacekeeping" mission ever again. Any military action will have to take place OUTSIDE the UN. Therefore, the UN will become nothing more then the debating society they have already proven themselves to be.

I think humanitarian aid should only be delivered OUTSIDE the UN as well. I think the US should form a new group to deliver humanitarian aid only under requirements that the aid actually reaches the people and does not go to enrich despots and UN workers.

[areafiftyone]

What a pretty picture! ;-)

[areafiftyone]

Bush is the best president we have had since Reagan. BUSH/CHENEY 2004!

[night reader]

I wonder how well inspections would work after we brought out 250,000 troops home.
==========================================
I agree that inspections would work if we just increased the number of inspectors, and gave them more authority. Say about a quarter million GIs with a licence to kill.

[XJarhead]

That's the whole insanity of the Franco/German position on this. Nobody, not Blix or the Axis of weasels, argues that Saddam will cooperate other than at the point of a gun. So exactly how long are we supposed to keep our troops there? We have to bring them home at some point, and then what? Saddam starts the same process all over again.

The French/German solution of dramatically increasing inspections, etc. doesn't work because the Iraqis will just start dragging their heels again until we bring them back. When they'll find a few more shells, etc....