The French ambassador to Washington, Jean-David Levitte, has pleaded for a stop to "French-bashing" by Americans now the war with Iraq is at an end.
Singling out prominent businessman and commentator Richard Perle, who is a close friend of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Mr Levitte said Mr Perle's "French-bashing is not very useful". He said it had triggered a vicious cycle of anti-Americanism back in France and he hoped it could now stop.
Mr Levitte's remarks came the day after French President Jacques Chirac telephoned US President George Bush and told him he wanted to play "a pragmatic role" in the reconstruction issues in Iraq.
It was the first time the two leaders had spoken since the breakdown of negotiations at the UN Security Council over Iraq and the call was accepted only after repeated pleading by French diplomats, it has emerged.
The US-French relationship faces another challenge soon. The UN Security Council must decide on the role of the UN in the reconstruction of Iraq, specifically whether a US-led administration will get access to the oil-for-food program.
Mr Levitte would not be drawn on whether France would push for a greater UN role in Iraq, but answering critical questions from the audience at Washington's University Club, he rejected claims that France was now anxious to get a share of lucrative postwar contracts in Iraq.
"We don't consider Iraq an El Dorado," said Mr Levitte. "We don't see any cake in Iraq but we see a huge burden."
He was also pessimistic about Iraq's transition to democracy, saying it was deeply divided between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds and bringing stability and democracy to the country would be a "daunting and long-term ambition".
He explained the divisions between Europe and the US on Iraq as the result of both history and the September 11 attacks.
Mr Levitte was working in his post at the UN in New York on the day of the attack and saw the towers collapse. "Here you are at war," he said. In Europe, the battle with terrorism was more a low-intensity conflict that Europe had struggled with for several decades.
Two centuries of war and fragile borders made Europe more concerned about national sovereignty and opposed to pre-emptive military action.
that warehouse found today filled with french Roland ..shoulder launched surface to air..(anti aircraft) missles...is a good indication of the french intent...
They are supporters of terrorists...the french are no longer a western nation...they are a sponsor of terror...
We should be bombing France...
The French are hypocrites liars murderers and the friends of rapists...in fact they are such
cowards they allow the dregs of the middle east to not only take over their nation without a struggle they allow these muslim scum to rape their own children and even have a trite word they use to describe the gang rape of their Christian children by these arab scum
Its called "Tournantes" (revolving) the girls are "revolved" among the muslim gang members........
I dont which is worse the scum who do these things or the cowards to arent out with their rifles shooting them...
France is Not a Western Country Anymore
By Guy Milliere
FrontPageMagazine.com | March 31, 2003
French-bashing is everywhere in the American media. I am French, and I must say
if Americans knew completely what's happening in France, the French-bashing
would be far harsher.
Jacques Chirac has been a friend of Saddam Hussein for more than thirty years.
He allowed the sale of nuclear facilities to Iraq that were destroyed just in
time by Israël. He sold Iraq the planes that were been used to gas thousands of
Kurds. And Saddam is not the only friend Chirac has. Chirac has never met a
ruthless dictator he did not like. Worse, Chirac is unprincipled and greedy. It
is common knowledge in France that he stole a lot of money when he was the mayor
of Paris, and everyone knows that if he had not been re-elected in May 2002, he
would be in jail now. To hear him speaking about morality or international law
nauseates every decent Frenchman.
And Chirac is not the only politician of this stripe in France. These days, it
is becoming hard to find a French politician ready to speak about human rights,
freedom or democracy. All of them seem to have the same speechwriter or to
belong to the same totalitarian political party; all of them are anti-American,
anti-Israeli and "pacifists." They regard Western civilization as something
filthy and abhorrent.
If you read the newspapers, it's the same. At times it seems the only
difference between the Soviet Union twenty years ago and France today is that in
Soviet Union you had only one Pravda, and in France you now have at least ten
such propaganda outlets: Different titles, same content. Their party line is
clear in reporting on the personalities found in the present Middle Eastern
crisis. Saddam Hussein, the "President of Iraq"? Well, maybe he has been brutal,
but you know, in "those" countries... George W. Bush? He 's a "moron" - a former
alcoholic, who has become a crazy fanatic, in fact the most dangerous man on the
face of earth. Ariel Sharon? A fascist who loves to kill Arabs. Arafat? A great
freedom fighter. When an American general speaks, it is merely propaganda, but
when Tariq Aziz pontificates, it is pure truth. Almost everyday you hear
anti-Semitic remarks, to boot.
The anti-Semitism has created a threat to the physical safety for French Jews.
Almost every week, some Jews get mugged, simply for being Jews. Almost nobody
pays attention to it. When an anti-Semitic act is so disgusting it is impossible
to hide it, journalists will speak of "confrontation between communities." When
confronted with the reality that these "confrontations" are always Muslims
attacking Jews, the editorial response: "Just because
there has yet to be a single documented case of a Jew attacking a Muslim yet
doesn't mean it will never happen. . . ."
And Jews are not the only victims of France's new identification with radical
Islam. In many French cities with a growing radical Islamist population, no
teenage girl can go out in the evening, at least not without a full burqa. If
she does, it will mean that "she is for everybody": in short, a whore. In the
same cities, every teenage girl - regardless of religion - has to wear the
Muslim veil if she does not want to be harassed or killed. Almost every month, a
young woman is mugged and raped in a suburb of a big city. Gang rape has become
so frequent that a new word, used by the rapists themselves to define their
hideous actions, is used by everybody:
tournantes (revolving). To the rapists, the woman is nothing, a mere object to
be thrown away after use. The people who speak about "revolving" seem to forget
a human being is involved as the victim. Policemen do nothing. Every decent
person knows the problem is Islam, but no one dares to say it. It could be
dangerous. The streets are not safe.
One year ago, a French Muslim decided to create a new business: he was tired of
seeing people drinking Coca-Cola - all this money going to Americans! He found a
factory and started to produce Mecca Cola. On the label, he put a picture of the
Al Aqsa mosque, with a large part of his profits would help to support the
Palestinian cause. In some suburbs of Paris, Coca-Cola has disappeared; Mecca
Cola has replaced it. A few days ago, another Muslim
businessman announced he will start to sell Muslim-Up. It will have the taste of
Sprite or Seven-Up, but it will be a Muslim drink - and naturally the profits
will go to the Palestinian jihad, as well.
Three radio stations in France are Muslim radio stations, and if you listen to
them, dedicated to broadcasting the voice of hate and racism all day long. One
radio station belongs to a friend of the rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen, and
curiously, if you listen to it, you will hear the same voice of hate and racism.
Rightists and radical Muslims have discovered they have many things in common.
If you want to understand why all this is happening, you have to understand one
thing: thirty years ago, French governments started to have a new foreign
policy. They called this new policy, "Arabian Policy." France became closer to
Arab countries - all of them disgusting dictatorships. France "benefited" by
doing business easily in these countries. In exchange, France had to push Europe
to unknot its ties with Israël and the United States. In
exchange too, "professors" came from the Arabian dictatorships to teach the
Arabic language to the young Arabs living in France. The only book they used to
teach the Arabic language was THE book, Al Kuran.
Now comes the time to pay the check: six million Muslims live in France, at
least ten per cent of them are radical Islamists poised on the edge of violence.
And these radical Muslims have allies on both the extreme Left and the extreme
Right. France is not a Western country anymore, it is now the leader of the
Arab/Muslim world. Israel has to know France is its main enemy. The United
States has to understand they have nothing to expect from today's France except
nastiness, treason, and cheating.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=6976
Nobody can possible know the incredible amounts of self restraint I have used in not commenting on the title of the thread.
Wild Turkey? I thought that was made in Lawrenceburg, KY (the wife's home town ... being a Baptist, I wouldn't know that otherwise, doncha know?).
Signs you have a Frnch doctor....
He tells you that your deodorant is giving you headaches and that you should take fewer showers
Insists on watching Jerry Lewis telethon tapes during open heart surgery
Suggests radical "brie implant"
Recommends surgery, you say no way, and he immediately surrenders
Skips out, leaves you to pay the check at a Vietnamese restaurant
Asks, "So what I misdiagnosed you, monsieur? I work for the government and cannot ever be fired. Vive longtemps le médecine sociale!"
And Finally.....
In the middle of your checkup, lets a German doctor bully his way into being your new primary care physician
Correct answer (although my question was indeed rhetorical). Usually Perle is mentioned in the same sentence with Wolfowitz, and sometimes Kristol. Take 100 "neo" conservatives all with nearly indentical views, and if there's only one Jew among them, he or she will invariably be singled out by the people in question.
I've seen another construct lately. Among the "neo-conservatives" the ones with Jewish names are portrayed as "influencing" or "pushing" the ones without Jewish names into a policy. I've Seen Perle, et al. posed as pushing Condoleeza, etc., to serve "Israeli" interests - as if Condoleeza could be pushed into anything. It is encoded language satisfying the prejudices and racism of lefties, Arab loonies and EUro anti-semites.
I caught that too. What Gaul!
