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Chirac Rebukes Poland For Iraqi Missiles Report
MSNBC, Reuters ^ | Oct. 4, 2003 | Marcin Grajewski

Posted on 10/04/2003 3:35:49 PM PDT by Ex-Dem

ROME, Oct. 4 — French President Jacques Chirac chastised Poland on Saturday for reporting that its troops had found advanced anti-aircraft missiles in Iraq that it said had been produced in France this year.

Chirac said the report issued by the Polish defence ministry late on Friday was wrong and was drawn up without proper checks.

''There could not be any 2003 missiles because those missiles have not been manufactured for 15 years,'' he told a news conference at a European Union summit in Rome.

''I believe the Polish soldiers have created confusion that could have been avoided with thorough verification,'' he said, adding that he had made the point to Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller ''in a friendly but frank and firm way.''

The spat could send France's relations with Poland, the biggest of 10 countries set to join the EU in seven months, to fresh lows after Chirac criticised Poland for supporting the U.S.-led war on Iraq, some diplomats said.

Many Polish politicians cannot forgive Chirac, an outspoken opponent of the war, for his remark this year that Poland and other EU newcomers ''missed a good opportunity to keep quiet'' when they signed a joint open letter in support of Washington.

(Excerpt) Read more at famulus.msnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: france; irrelevant; missiles; poland; sanctions
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Chirac tells Poland to STFU yet again...
1 posted on 10/04/2003 3:35:49 PM PDT by Ex-Dem
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2 posted on 10/04/2003 3:38:05 PM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: Ex-Dem
Old Europe is getting really old and tiresome.
3 posted on 10/04/2003 3:39:33 PM PDT by Montfort
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To: Ex-Dem
Chiraq is a commie lying bastard but I'm sure they weren't manufactured in 2003. However, I'm just as sure that France sold the missiles to Hussein after the first gulf warwhile Hussein was banned from purchasing arms by UN resolutions.

And the scurrilous democrats want us to partner with these socialist pigs. What next?

4 posted on 10/04/2003 3:43:40 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: Ex-Dem
You know, before the era of political correctness, there would have been a lot of jokes regarding a report based on Polish intelligence.
5 posted on 10/04/2003 3:45:46 PM PDT by Orangedog (Soccer-Moms are the biggest threat to your freedoms and the republic !)
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To: Ex-Dem
The French never lie.

Like their models, the Palestinians, the French can be trusted ...... NOT.

FRANCE DELENDA EST


A 3-D GRAPH OF FRANCE's EMPTY CREDIBILITY AND ABSENT HONOR




6 posted on 10/04/2003 3:46:01 PM PDT by Diogenesis (If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us)
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To: Ex-Dem
Chirac is way too defensive about this stuff. He's trying to hide something.
7 posted on 10/04/2003 3:46:04 PM PDT by TheCrusader
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To: Ex-Dem
So....were the Polish soldiers wrong, or is Chirac playing cover-up?

I don't know about you, but If I had to make a blind choice on who's word I trust - Poland or France - it's a no brainer....
8 posted on 10/04/2003 3:49:07 PM PDT by TheBattman
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To: TheCrusader
I for one would not be surprised in the least. Chirac is pushing a little too hard for us to withdraw from Iraq.
9 posted on 10/04/2003 3:49:58 PM PDT by Ex-Dem (Better a traitor to the DNC than a traitor to America.)
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To: Diogenesis
LOL

Great pics, as always.
10 posted on 10/04/2003 3:51:14 PM PDT by Ex-Dem (Better a traitor to the DNC than a traitor to America.)
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To: Ex-Dem

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them.  That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." - Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."  - Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." - Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." - Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." - Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." - Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002


"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."  - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002


"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within thenext five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"  ]] Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction  ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

 


11 posted on 10/04/2003 4:12:26 PM PDT by tomball
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To: tomball
Wow, saving that one to HD to bombard my Dem friends with...
12 posted on 10/04/2003 4:15:26 PM PDT by Ex-Dem (Better a traitor to the DNC than a traitor to America.)
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To: jwalsh07
Maybe not manufactured in 2003. How about assembled in 2003? That's a real possibility.
13 posted on 10/04/2003 4:22:49 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Ex-Dem
France hasn't done much for Poland...going all the way back to September 1, 1939.
14 posted on 10/04/2003 4:23:42 PM PDT by xrp
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To: TheBattman
I don't know about you, but If I had to make a blind choice on who's word I trust - Poland or France - it's a no brainer....

The story had legs until they reported the Poles destroyed the missles. Why destroy evidence.

15 posted on 10/04/2003 4:28:22 PM PDT by steve50 (Principles are useless if applied selectively)
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To: Ex-Dem
I have seen many media reports saying that the reports on French Missiles was wrong. But then they only quote Chirac denying it. As a polish figure come and said anything. The only i thing i saw so far was some polish minister saying he "expressed his regrets". Has anyone come out and flatly deny the reports??
16 posted on 10/04/2003 4:28:53 PM PDT by chudogg
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To: steve50
Why destroy evidence.

A frantic call by Chirac along with a 7 figure sum wired to a polish bank account?

17 posted on 10/04/2003 4:30:22 PM PDT by chudogg
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To: Ex-Dem
I wonder what France was flying into Baghdad airport a few years back. They wouldn't give the UN advance notice of their flights

Sept. 22, 2000

A French charter flight becomes the first international flight into Baghdad to ignore the request from the U.N. sanctions committee to wait for clearance and starts a flood of flights from nations eager to chip away at sanctions.

18 posted on 10/04/2003 4:32:57 PM PDT by syriacus (Prankin' Al Franken said---My letter to Ashcroft was not a lie...it was a prank. 9/7/03 to H Kurtz)
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To: tomball
WOW.....thanks for that post. It says it all. I'm going to be sure to save that for further use.
19 posted on 10/04/2003 4:38:54 PM PDT by mrtysmm
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To: jwalsh07
scurrilous democrats want us to partner with these socialist pigs

Birds of a feather.

20 posted on 10/04/2003 4:41:59 PM PDT by tbpiper
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