France 'utterly opportunistic' on Iraq, says (Aussie PM) Howard

AAP ^ | 9/24/03 | AAP

[Mark Felton]

PRIME Minister John Howard today lashed out at France following French President Jacques Chirac's stinging criticism of the United States over the war against Iraq.

"The French have been utterly opportunistic from the very beginning on this issue," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney today, following a speech by Mr Chirac to the United Nations.

Mr Chirac told the UN the US-led war had "shaken the multilateral system" and that there was no justification for a superpower to act alone, without UN backing.

But Mr Howard defended the US, saying: "If America and her allies had not acted, then Iraq would still be run by Saddam Hussein.

"Those that advocated another course have to accept that if their advice had been followed Saddam Hussein would still be in power in Iraq, with all of the torture and the human rights abuses that is involved in that.

"It may suit countries like France now to say you shouldn't do anything without a new Security Council resolution, but countries like France haven't always adopted that attitude in the past."

Mr Howard said the war against Iraq by the "coalition of the willing" was legal and consistent with the UN charter.

"People seem to have forgotten that there were 17 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council which dealt with Saddam Hussein's defiance of the need to account for his weapons of mass destruction," he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also criticised the US, describing the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war as a threat to global security.

Mr Howard said Australia had always supported a greater involvement by the UN, but it was countries such as France which stopped the system working properly.

"Let's call a spade a spade: because of the authority they exercised as a permanent member of the Security Council, countries like France made it impossible for the Security Council and the United Nations to do their job," he said.

"They were perfectly happy to see American and British troops and a smaller number of Australian forces exert pressure on Saddam Hussein before the war started, but then they weren't prepared to join the collective action.

"Now they are criticising those who were willing to do what the world I'm sure is relieved was done, and that is to rid the world of Saddam Hussein."

AAP

[Mark Felton]

"It is difficult to conceive how so good a people, with so good a King [as Louis XVI of France], so well-disposed rulers in general, so genial a climate, so fertile a soil, should be rendered so ineffectual for producing human happiness by one single curse--that of a bad form of government. But it is a fact; in spite of the mildness of their governors, the people are ground to powder by the vices of the form of government. Of twenty millions of people supposed to be in France, I am of opinion there are nineteen millions more wretched, more accursed in every circumstance of human existence than the most conspicuously wretched individual of the whole United States." --Thomas Jefferson to Elizabeth Trist, 1785. ME 5:81, Papers 8:568

[Coop]

Bravo, PM Howard!

[Rusty Shackelford]

"Let's call a spade a spade.."

Was he refering to Kofi Annan?

[xJones]

The French have been utterly opportunistic from the very beginning on this issue," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney today,

The man has a gift for telling the blunt truth.

[Puppage]

Throw another frog on the barbie, mate!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Ping for our awesome Aussie ally.

 Thanks, Tonkin!

If you want on or off my PRO-coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days). All links are added to my homepage, link above.

[prairiebreeze]

"It may suit countries like France now to say you shouldn't do anything without a new Security Council resolution, but countries like France haven't always adopted that attitude in the past."

The French are like American lefties. Using their self-imposed "rules" only when it suits them.

Prairie

[Mr. Silverback]

"Let's call a spade a spade.." Was he refering to Kofi Annan?

What the heck is that crap?

[Mr. Silverback]

Man, there is napalm all over that target! Thanks for the helping hand, PM Howard!

[antonz]

It means to be quite frank and up front about something.

ie
Lets call a spade a spade and not a shovel.

Hope that explains it.

[Mr. Silverback]

I know what "call a spade a spade" means. However, "spade" is also an old slang term for a black man, not as bad as the N-word but enjoyed by bigots across the land. I was just wondering why anyone would use it. Just because Koffi is a scumbag doesn't mean we should accept this bilge.

[blackie]

The Aussie gets it!!

[Rusty Shackelford]

I wasn't trying to make light of this.

I certainly would never use the phrase, even among white folk.

It's too loaded.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Mr. Silverback]

Fair enough.

[windchime]

Prime Minister Howard has always been one of my favorites! He just reminded me why.

[PhilDragoo]

Australian for man.

french for weasel.

[mtbopfuyn]

"People seem to have forgotten that there were 17 resolutions of the United Nations Security Council which dealt with Saddam Hussein's defiance of the need to account for his weapons of mass destruction,"

Bears repeating.