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French begged Bush to take call
The Daily Telegraph ^
| April 17, 2003
| Toby Harnden
Posted on 04/16/2003 5:17:16 PM PDT by 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.
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: blair; bush; chirac; collateralbenefits; france; iraq; olivebranch; uk; us; war; whineandcheese
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Pardon me while I laugh my head off at the idea of the French begging. ;)
Regards, Ivan
1
posted on
04/16/2003 5:17:16 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: hoosiermama; MeekMom; Dutchgirl; Freedom'sWorthIt; Carolina; patricia; annyokie; ...
Bump!
2
posted on
04/16/2003 5:17:27 PM PDT
by
MadIvan
To: MadIvan
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.
3
posted on
04/16/2003 5:19:05 PM PDT
by
LS
To: MadIvan
Isn't begging and whining part of the French SOP? :}
4
posted on
04/16/2003 5:19:49 PM PDT
by
Cate
((LET FREEDOM RING!!!!))
To: MadIvan
i am LOVING this one!
5
posted on
04/16/2003 5:21:03 PM PDT
by
xsmommy
To: MadIvan
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.
6
posted on
04/16/2003 5:21:10 PM PDT
by
Ole Okie
To: MadIvan
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.
7
posted on
04/16/2003 5:21:44 PM PDT
by
Dog Gone
To: LS
My question for you is..... What did Clinton accomplish? :-)
8
posted on
04/16/2003 5:22:34 PM PDT
by
MJY1288
(Freedom is Ringing)
To: MadIvan
Hey Ivan, you continue to be one of the best posters around here. thanks buddy.
9
posted on
04/16/2003 5:22:44 PM PDT
by
remitrom
To: MadIvan
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!
10
posted on
04/16/2003 5:23:12 PM PDT
by
Brett66
To: MadIvan
Pardon me while I join you laughing my head off about the French begging!
11
posted on
04/16/2003 5:23:41 PM PDT
by
justshe
(Eliminate Freepathons! Become a monthly donor.)
To: Grampa Dave
Ping!!
To: MadIvan
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!
To: MadIvan
It is what poodles do best.
14
posted on
04/16/2003 5:26:22 PM PDT
by
William McKinley
(You're so vain, you probably think this tagline's about you)
To: MadIvan
Bush is the one that called, correct?
To: Cate
It's the WINE they're worried about.
16
posted on
04/16/2003 5:27:55 PM PDT
by
OldFriend
(without the brave, there would be no land of the free)
To: Dark Wing
ping
17
posted on
04/16/2003 5:28:23 PM PDT
by
Thud
To: MJY1288
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 :)
18
posted on
04/16/2003 5:29:05 PM PDT
by
LS
To: MadIvan
Please someone, tell me why would an American vacation in such a rude, arrogant country such as France when the whole United States awaits?
To: justshe
20
posted on
04/16/2003 5:29:39 PM PDT
by
Timesink
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