French begged Bush to take call

The Daily Telegraph ^ | April 17, 2003 | Toby Harnden

[MadIvan]

A clear-the-air telephone call between President Jacques Chirac and President George W Bush this week was secured only by repeated pleading from French diplomats, it emerged yesterday. The 20-minute call on Tuesday was the first time they had spoken for more than two months.

When asked if the talk had been "positive", Ari Fleischer, Mr Bush's spokesman, said: "From the President's point of view, he would call it a business-like conversation." M Chirac's spokesman said he had been "pragmatic" about post-war Iraq.

Before the call could be arranged, Jean-David Levitte, the French ambassador to Washington, had to lobby Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief political strategist, and Stephen Hadley, the deputy national security adviser, at the White House.

Final American agreement to the call was secured only after discussions on Monday between Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, and Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister.

Last week, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, told senators: "The French have behaved in ways . . . that have been very damaging to Nato. I think France is going to pay some consequences, not just with us but with other countries."

A senior Bush administration official told The Washington Post: "What the French did . . . was serious and, yes, it is a problem. How much of a problem and how lasting it is going to be depend on the French. They can choose to make it much more serious, in which case the consequences will be there, and it will be very bad."

Mr Bush is known for being extremely slow to forgive those who have crossed him, particularly if he feels that they have been disloyal or dishonest. He was livid with Gerhard Schröder after the Chancellor's election campaign, which was widely seen as anti-American.

The anger towards France is deeper and more pervasive. French firms have suffered a loss of income from cancelled American orders and officials argue that the successful French attempt to scupper a second United Nations resolution extended far beyond M Chirac.

Mr Powell is understood to be still furious about the way in which he was treated by M de Villepin when he was called to a meeting supposedly about the international war against terrorism, only to be surprised by the French foreign minister declaring France's opposition to war with Iraq.

[MadIvan]

Pardon me while I laugh my head off at the idea of the French begging. ;)

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[LS]

They haven't begged nearly enough, the swine.

We are reshaping the world. In just two years, Bush has accomplished more positively than Teddy Roosevelt in five or Clinton in eight.

[Cate]

Isn't begging and whining part of the French SOP? :}

[xsmommy]

i am LOVING this one!

[Ole Okie]

What? The Frogs are hopping to get back on President Bush's good side?

It may be a cold day in hell before Dubya forgets what these bastards did when the chips were down.

[Dog Gone]

All I know about this place called France is that it makes horrible wine and automobiles. Oh yes, it also is inhabited by a tribe known as the Snots.

That's all I know.

[MJY1288]

My question for you is..... What did Clinton accomplish? :-)

[remitrom]

Hey Ivan, you continue to be one of the best posters around here. thanks buddy.

[Brett66]

Just like a bad puppy dog with their tail between their legs. The French are bad enough when they're arrogant, they're just as bad when they're whining. ESOD Frenchies!

[justshe]

Pardon me while I join you laughing my head off about the French begging!

[Black Agnes]

Ping!!

[Publius6961]

I wish I could remember the name of the idiot on Fox or MSNBC (sorry) who said that he was there at Chirac's office when Bush called him.
I spit coffee all over the place but there it was...

If Bush got on the line first, I hope someone clues him in on how the system works, and what the perceived message is.

Make the frog wait another 2 months!

[William McKinley]

It is what poodles do best.

[Sir Gawain]

Bush is the one that called, correct?

[OldFriend]

It's the WINE they're worried about.

[Thud]

ping

[LS]

Besides hurling cruise missiles at sand dunes, deploying the best military in the world to support Haitian thugs, and "rescuing" the Kosovars . . . after Kosovo was depopulated, I can't think of a thing :)

[The_Media_never_lie]

Please someone, tell me why would an American vacation in such a rude, arrogant country such as France when the whole United States awaits?

[Timesink]