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

France fills the gap where an Iraq policy should be with a simple formula: 'Say merde to the Americans!'

The sea is as blue as ever, the weather as fine, and, in this Provencal restaurant in a narrow alley in Cannes, the food tastier than ever. So why is Stephane, le patron, despondent?

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

The Tourist Office for the region of which Cannes is part estimates the loss of revenue due to an undeclared American "boycott" at around 18% enough to make the difference between a good season and a bad one.

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).

The bad season on the French Riviera is just one example of the nefarious effects real or imagined anti-Americanism could have on ordinary life. Many French businesses are likely to suffer, while thousands of Americans have been deprived of holidaying in their favorite destination.

Using the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks as a peg, the French media are full of editorials, columns and comments dealing with what is perceived as "unreasonable sulking" by the Americans. Many commentators remind their readers and audiences of the headline in the Parisian Le Monde daily on September 12, 2001: "We are all Americans!"

The argument is that the Americans, being ungrateful brats, have forgotten that "generous" show of solidarity.

"We were on their side when they were attacked," notes an editorialist on the state-owned radio France Inter. "They must understand that we cannot be on their side when they are attacking others."

The logical conclusion of such a premise is that we love the Americans only when they die, especially in large numbers, but dislike them when they fight back against those who, incidentally, happen to be our enemies as well.

Cet animal est trop mechant Quand on l'attacque il se defend! (This beast is quite mischievous For, when attacked, it defends itself!)

The issue of whether or not military action should be taken against Saddam Hussein was never properly debated in France. In fact, France is the only major democracy where the parliament did not devote a single debate to Iraq. All decisions were taken by the president and a couple of advisors at the Elysee Palace, with Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin acting as point-man.

Lacking was an alternative vision of how to deal with an Iraqi regime that had defied the UN for 12 years and, in the words of President Chirac himself, remained "an abiding threat to world peace."

Chirac wanted to play a version of le poker mentuer (liar's poker). He never said he would veto a Security Council resolution to authorize military action against Saddam. But he indicated, through diplomatic gesticulations, that he would do precisely that. The rest, as we know, is history.

The result of that exercise in futile ambiguity is that France never developed a sober analysis of the events that led to the war and, worse still, is unable to understand the post-Saddam situation in Iraq.

France had no Iraq policy then and has none now. The gap was and still is filled with anti-American gestures in the United Nations and elsewhere. The formula is simple: "Say merde to the Americans and you have a policy!"

Anti-Americanism as a substitute for policy is sustained thanks to a number of myths and outright lies.

One myth is that current anti-Americanism is not directed at the American people but at the Bush administration's "neo-con" strategists. One routine claim of French pundits is that Bush and "his gang" have "hijacked the American ship of state" and are using it in the interests of the Likud party in Israel.

Such an excuse is worse than the insult. For it shows disdain for American democracy.

Another myth is that the US has lost in Iraq, and is looking for a way out. The daily Liberation jubilates that "Bush is rushing headlong for the exit!"

That may provide a dose of schadenfreude, but it is no basis for a serious understanding of the situation in Iraq. In fact, things in Iraq are going better than those who know that country expected. Provided there is no loss of nerve in Washington, Iraq could become as much of a success as were West Germany and Japan after World War II. One lie is that the US toppled Saddam in violation of international law. That lie is supported by a number of irresponsible statements, including one from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In an interview with Le Monde last week Annan had this to say: "We have to accept that the war [in Iraq] was waged against the view of the Security Council."

This, of course, is disingenuous to say the least. The Security Council never opposed the war. Nor did any of its members make the slightest move to prevent the war, or, once it had started, to stop it. On the contrary, the war enjoyed the support of no fewer than 18 mandatory resolutions passed, often unanimously, by the same Security Council. Incidentally, Annan forgets that the liberation of Kosovo also took place without the formal approval of the Security Council.

Yet another lie circulated to justify anti-Americanism is that the US, interested only in Iraq's oil, deliberately ignores the need to repair public services there. That lie ignores the fact that Iraq's public services were in a state of decay before the war.

Some Iraqis, especially in Baghdad, may have had excessive expectations with regard to the US. That has fostered what one could call a "room service" mentality in Baghdad, where the US is expected to organize a cordon bleu feast just four months after the end of a half-century of brutal dictatorship.

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks, French commentators are unanimous in asserting that the US is more unpopular today than it was before.

The problem is that they never ask why this may be the case. Nor do they ask whether it is wise to hurt a friend, even if he is wrong, to please a common enemy. Mark Twain said the chief office of a friend is to support you, even when you are wrong!

Anti-Americanism may look attractive in the short run as a means of covering the Chirac government's failure to develop a coherent and principled foreign policy. In the medium and long runs, however, anti-Americanism is a disease that harms France as well.

The writer, an Iranian author and journalist, is editor of the Paris-based Politique Internationale.

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...

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.

"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."

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