Posted on 05/14/2004 8:16:17 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
PARIS (AP) -- Against the backdrop of war in Iraq, world leaders will issue ``a message of peace'' when they gather in France next month to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the French war veterans minister said in an interview Thursday.
Driving the commemorations is a realization that the anniversary will likely be the last major opportunity to mark the epic invasion that led to Nazi Germany's defeat with those that lived through it.
``There will be far fewer for the 70th anniversary, alas, human beings being what they are,'' Hamlaoui Mekachera told The Associated Press. ``The 60th anniversary is a very important point of reference, and people are aware of that.''
Seventeen heads of state and government -- ``on whom peace, and the world's conflicts, depend'' -- are expected in Normandy on June 6, the minister said. They include President Bush, who will join with his strongest European critics of the Iraq war -- France's Jacques Chirac, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Germany's Gerhard Schroeder.
``There's a desire to gather on that day to say, even without saying it aloud: 'Never again. We are here so that there is a space on a global scale for peace,''' Mekachera said. ``Otherwise it would make no sense. Why do all this if it is not a message of peace?''
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Damn Straight! Saving France twice was 1 time too many IMHO. Now if we could just find someone slightly nicer than Hans Guderion to palm these losers off on. Perhaps a group of moderate Islamics would like to force them into dhimmitude.
They just don't get it, do they?
Peace is not merely the absence of war.
We were pretty darn peaceful on Sept. 10, 2001.
Just think... If the current crop of liberals and lawyers had been running things then, the invasion would have begun by an air drop of leaflets warning the Nazis of their Miranda rights. And loudspeakers from the ships telling the enemy "You have the right to remain silent..."
Then Gehring could just claim he couldn't hear his rights being read over the roar of anti-aircraft fire.
Let's see....Klintoon wanted to rename VJ Day to "Victory in The Pacific But We're not Picking on The Japanese Cuz We Don't want To Be Mean Just Because They Attacked Us Without Warning 50 Years Ago and We're Policitally Correct" Day, or something like that. Maybe we should rename D-Day to something more fuzzy and PC?
We'll just call it "Beach Party Day".
For the sake of my dad, all veterans, and Maj (ret) Richard D. Winters...all of you POS French and world "leaders" can Kiss My A$$.
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