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To: redlipstick
In 1976 Saddam paid an official visit to France, his first and last to any Western country, and was received by Chirac as a head of state.

It was not until 1991 that Chirac broke contacts with Saddam as a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

The friendship forged between the two men proved profitable for both sides. France sold an estimated $20 billion worth of weapons, including Mirage fighters, to Iraq, and emerged as Iraq's biggest trading partner, in a wide-range of civilian goods and services, after Russia. In exchange, Iraq focused on France as its largest oil market in Europe.

During five of his seven-year first term as president, Chirac was unable to pursue an Iraq policy of his own because he had to contend with a Socialist-Communist cabinet headed by his then political rival Lionel Jospin.

Since last April, however, Chirac, with his supporters in control of both the parliament and the cabinet, has assumed personal charge of the Iraqi issue by setting up a special "policy cell" within the Elysee Palace.
Chirac has dispatched a special emissary to Baghdad to sound out "the possibility of change without war."

The emissary is Pierre Delval, described by many as a brilliant young diplomat.

He first went to Baghdad using as cover the post of director of the French state-owned National Printing Company, but has since been seconded to the Quai d'Orsay, the French foreign office.

The Delval mission is designed in a way as to allow him to spend ten days in Iraq each month, thus giving Paris a direct diplomatic presence in the absence of an ambassador.

According to sources Iraqi response to Delval has been "more than encouraging."

This was symbolized by the fact that Saddam Hussein invited the French diplomat to attend a four-hour session of the Iraqi government last month when the latest threats from Washington were debated.

Delval's main Iraqi contact man is Tareq Aziz, the veteran Baathist leader who has been close to the French for years.

In recent months, however, Delval has also forged links with Qussai, Saddam Hussein's younger son. The two have met on at least six occasions and held "very broad discussions on all aspects of policy."

French sources believe that Qussai, unlike his elder brother Uday whom they describe as "unpredictable," could play a central role in a period of transition.

One idea is for Qussai to be appointed prime minister, a post now held by Saddam himself, so that he can form a cabinet of new generation and bring in new faces, mostly technocrats.

Another French idea is that the Baath party, now controlled by Uday, should be revived under a new leadership.

Delval has met several Baath leaders to evoke the possibility of a congress in which the Iraqi ruling party could "carry out major reforms of policy and personnel."

The French believe that the Baath remains a real political force in Iraq and should not be dismissed out of hand.

Paris sources claim that Saddam's decision to announce a general amnesty, including the release of all political prisoners, is a response to French suggestions.

Another French suggestion is that Saddam should announce an amnesty, perhaps next April, for Iraqis in exile, inviting them all to return home and help rebuild the country.

Another part of the plan is to hold fresh parliamentary elections, perhaps next autumn, so that a more credible legislature could be formed. The French want the new parliament to include members from the two principal Kurdish parties plus the Iraqi Communist party, and independents, especially women.

Unlike Washington that presents Iraq's leadership as a coterie of war criminals, Paris insists that the Iraqi ruling elite includes many "valuable individuals".

One senior French official even told us that Paris believed that Iraq had "potentially the most effective leadership group in the whole of the Arab world."

Apart from Qussai and Tareq Aziz, Iraqi officials who appear to be supporting the French initiative include the National Assembly Speaker Saadoun Hammadi, diplomatic advisor Nizar Hamdoun, Commerce Minister Muhamamd Mahdi-Saleh, head of the Central Bank Muhammad al-Hawwash, presidential adviser Abdulrazzaq al-Hashemi, Industry Minister Amer al-Rashid, and Foreign Minister Naji al-Sabri.

To these are added a number of technocrats, senior civil servants, university teachers, and private businessmen with links to France.

"We can change Iraq without war," says a French source. "All we need is time to show that our scenario works better than that of Washington."

What France is proposing in Iraq is already seen in Paris as "the Chirac Doctrine" which is aimed at persuading "trouble-making regimes" to accept peaceful change.

The question is: Will Washington stand back and watch while the Chirac doctrine is pout to its first major test?
123 posted on 03/21/2003 3:50:09 PM PST by kcvl
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To: kcvl
"We can change Iraq without war," says a French source. "All we need is time to show that our scenario works better than that of Washington."

Why *duh* didn't our good President get this point! Of course it would work better. The French would teach them how to flat out surrender. No cruise missiles, no smart bombs, required!

132 posted on 03/21/2003 4:13:29 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (O Columbia... Thy banners make tyranny tremble... when borne by the red, white and blue)
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