A game in which everyone loses-French Iraq policy: 'Say merde to the Americans!'

Jerusalem Post ^ | 9-18-03 | Amir Taheri

[Mears]

Why do I not care about the French?

[Arkie2]

French are suffering because of a lack of tourism? I can't tell you how funny that is!

[Sacajaweau]

Dear France:

You wrote the most recent chapter about France as an reneging ally.

We're writing this one.

Signed: The People Who Saved France!! Go USA

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Throw up your hands!
Stick out your tush,
Hands on your hips,
Give them a push!

Say ooh la la,
You're doing the French Mistake!

[CasearianDaoist]

The French do not understand how deeply they have offended and insulted us - and it goes much beyond bistros in Cannes. Yes, after a time the PBS crowd will start trickling back in, but "tourism" - whatever that may be - is hardly the issue. It will not ever be the same between our nations - for the electorate as a whole - the vast majority of whom have never nor would ever go to France - they are now the enemy. It is like catching your spouse in bed with a cousin.

It will last at least a generation.

Europe prides itself on its "civilization" but they are really just living off of the accomplishment of the old aristocratic order. They are like children up in their parent's attic trying on adult clothes.

Soon they will not be able to do even that. When the rest of the world is at their throats they will turn to us in need: We may not help them this time around.

If we can win the civil war we are fighting in this country and restore american freedoms,prosperity and leadership(a dubious "if," I grant you) we will be so far out ahead of the Euros that we will have to invent new political and economic catagories to describe the Old World. They shall rue the day...

[TADSLOS]

The Americans didn't come this year," explains Stephan. "That means a 30% fall in our revenue."

EXCELLENT!

[gedeon3]

My advice to the arrogant french: coman mierda!

[sarasota]

I don't suppose it would help the French to apply pressure to the elitists who run their country?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wonder who will bail them out next time ?

[Frank_Discussion]

"They are like children up in their parent's attic trying on adult clothes."

That's perfect, IMHO.

[conservativecorner]

The Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys can all go jump in a lake. I wouldn't visit France under any circumstance.

[Cicero]

France had no Iraq policy then and has none now.

This is not entirely true. Granted, the chief thing motivating the French is hatred and envy of America. But they did have a very straightforward and practical policy.

This policy was to support Saddam and sell him weapons and nuclear reactors in return for a major cut of the oil reserves and money. As long as the UN boycott was in place, France and Russia enjoyed virtual monopolies in trading with Iraq, and a grateful Saddam gave TotalFinaElf and the Russians very juicy deals in return. The terms of their business arrangements--the price of the oil--amounted to a huge bribe. In return, France and Russia could be counted on to defend Saddam to the death in the UN Security Council.

Kofi Annan and the UN Bureaucracy were cut in on the deal through the Oil for Peace program. That gave them a slush fund of between 10 and 20 billion dollars (the exact figures were never released) and gave employment and generous expense accounts to thousands of UN bureaucrats. The deal is unfolded in an article printed about a year ago in the WSJ entitled "Kofi Annanderson." While Iraqi children starved (and America was blamed) Saddam, France, Russia, and the UN split up the money.

Chretien of Canada was also marginally involved, since his daughter is married to the largest stockholder of TotalFinaElf. And France seems to have managed to pull Turkey into this orbit as well.

[Big Mack]

Dear France,
Sorry your revenues are down. The best we can offer you is that you can keep Jerry Lewis and Johnny Depp.

[gcruse]

"There's another operation, one that we are all involved in that isn't proving so easy to get out of, though. That's the Oil for Food slush fund Kofi Annan oversees for the benefit, he says, of the Iraqi citizenry, except it doesn't. But Annan's no dummy. The fact that millions of dollars from the sale of oil went into the pockets of Saddam wasn't news to him. Actually, the US and Britain back in March of 2001 asked the UN for a panel to monitor the activities of the 600 oil companies and middlemen buying oil under the program with the money being held in escrow to soften the effects of sanctions on Iraqi civilians. Oil sales were getting illegally "surcharged," and the overage vanishing. Annan's response? "Don't pay it." That was over two years ago.

And remember that pipeline going directly from Northern Iraq to Syria that we closed as the war was winding down? The following from Reuters, March 21, 2001.

"Annan also said Iraq had informed the United Nations...that Baghdad saw no need for a U.N. team to study its pipeline to Syria." In other words, Iraq told the UN not to inspect a 100,000 barrels a day outside-the-program oil hookup to Syria. And, unsurprisingly, Kofi was okay with that. The pipeline was still running two years later.

Before the sanctions were lifted, the Axis of Weasels insisted on complete transparency in the US handling of future Iraqi oil sales. But by now, it should come as no surprise that the Annan slush fund was opaque. Since the program began in December 1996, the UN raised $64 billion in revenue from the sale of Iraqi oil. Humanitarian imports, which began to arrive in Iraq in March 1997, total no more than $45 billion according to documents in the UN Office of the Iraq program. The agency refuses to submit to audits in search of almost $20 billion.There's another operation, one that we are all involved in that isn't proving so easy to get out of, though. That's the Oil for Food slush fund Kofi Annan oversees for the benefit, he says, of the Iraqi citizenry, except it doesn't. But Annan's no dummy. The fact that millions of dollars from the sale of oil went into the pockets of Saddam wasn't news to him. Actually, the US and Britain back in March of 2001 asked the UN for a panel to monitor the activities of the 600 oil companies and middlemen buying oil under the program with the money being held in escrow to soften the effects of sanctions on Iraqi civilians. Oil sales were getting illegally "surcharged," and the overage vanishing. Annan's response? "Don't pay it." That was over two years ago.

And remember that pipeline going directly from Northern Iraq to Syria that we closed as the war was winding down? The following from Reuters, March 21, 2001.

"Annan also said Iraq had informed the United Nations...that Baghdad saw no need for a U.N. team to study its pipeline to Syria." In other words, Iraq told the UN not to inspect a 100,000 barrels a day outside-the-program oil hookup to Syria. And, unsurprisingly, Kofi was okay with that. The pipeline was still running two years later.

Before the sanctions were lifted, the Axis of Weasels insisted on complete transparency in the US handling of future Iraqi oil sales. But by now, it should come as no surprise that the Annan slush fund was opaque. Since the program began in December 1996, the UN raised $64 billion in revenue from the sale of Iraqi oil. Humanitarian imports, which began to arrive in Iraq in March 1997, total no more than $45 billion according to documents in the UN Office of the Iraq program. The agency refuses to submit to audits in search of almost $20 billion.There's another operation, one that we are all involved in that isn't proving so easy to get out of, though. That's the Oil for Food slush fund Kofi Annan oversees for the benefit, he says, of the Iraqi citizenry, except it doesn't. But Annan's no dummy. The fact that millions of dollars from the sale of oil went into the pockets of Saddam wasn't news to him. Actually, the US and Britain back in March of 2001 asked the UN for a panel to monitor the activities of the 600 oil companies and middlemen buying oil under the program with the money being held in escrow to soften the effects of sanctions on Iraqi civilians. Oil sales were getting illegally "surcharged," and the overage vanishing. Annan's response? "Don't pay it." That was over two years ago.

And remember that pipeline going directly from Northern Iraq to Syria that we closed as the war was winding down? The following from Reuters, March 21, 2001.

"Annan also said Iraq had informed the United Nations...that Baghdad saw no need for a U.N. team to study its pipeline to Syria." In other words, Iraq told the UN not to inspect a 100,000 barrels a day outside-the-program oil hookup to Syria. And, unsurprisingly, Kofi was okay with that. The pipeline was still running two years later.

Before the sanctions were lifted, the Axis of Weasels insisted on complete transparency in the US handling of future Iraqi oil sales. But by now, it should come as no surprise that the Annan slush fund was opaque. Since the program began in December 1996, the UN raised $64 billion in revenue from the sale of Iraqi oil. Humanitarian imports, which began to arrive in Iraq in March 1997, total no more than $45 billion according to documents in the UN Office of the Iraq program. The agency refuses to submit to audits in search of almost $20 billion."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/917492/postshttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/917492/posts

[gcruse]

Ooops. Ooops. :p

[Becki]

The assumption here is that Americans are staying away because they perceive France as a hostile power that opposed the war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. (In Afghanistan, France changed sides after the Taliban were ejected from Kabul).

If they had only left it as a disagreement, there would be no issue. They actively took it further into undermining and sabotaging efforts.

Hardly the actions of an ally.

Becki

[Billthedrill]

The assumption here is that Americans are staying away because they perceive France as a hostile power...

Well, yes...if there is an aspect of Frances activities that wasn't actively hostile it somehow escaped me.

[Catalonia]

"... unreasonable sulking" by the Americans.

Americans don't sulk. We identify what we like or don't like and do something about it. Sulking on the national level is a passive, euroweenie kind of reaction to the world.

[ChinaThreat]

That is a quite interesting call sign. Youre prose is interesting. Care to explain the username?