Posted on 02/01/2006 4:50:10 AM PST by paudio
PARIS -- Once every five or six weeks, a French presidential adviser named Maurice Gourdault-Montagne flies to Washington to meet with his American counterpart, national security adviser Stephen Hadley. They spend several hours coordinating strategy on Iran, Syria, Lebanon and other hot spots, and then the Frenchman flies home. In between trips, the two men talk often on the phone, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Welcome to the French Connection. Though the link between the top foreign policy advisers of Presidents Bush and Jacques Chirac is almost unknown to the outside world, it has emerged as an important element of U.S. planning. On a public level, France may still be the butt of jokes among American politicians, but in these private diplomatic contacts, the Elysee Palace has become one of the White House's most important and effective allies.
During a visit here this week, I had a chance to talk with French sources who know some of the closely held details. It's an intriguing story of back channels and secret missions, but it illustrates a larger change in America's approach: Bruised by the war in Iraq, the administration is now working hard to conduct its foreign policy in tandem with international allies and, where possible, through the United Nations.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
France was the first western country to deal with Arab terrorists..remeber the Algerian War in the early 60's..
More like that the French have stopped sniffling and realized that they have some shared interests with the U.S. on issues, particularly in their former colonies Syria and Lebanon.
If any nation was "bruised", it was France after their homegrown jihadists burned half the cars in the country last fall.
If this is the plan, I don't want any part of it. The UN will do anything and everything within its power to bring the United States to heel.
exactly
Troll?
Oh, did you mean the Algerian Independence War which French engaged in terrorism through OAS and murdered peaceful Algerian protests in Paris, also causing thousands of French soldiers to die and resulting for France to put up another white flag?
Typical ComPost tripe. If France has become a "more effective" ally in the fight against terrorists, then France has altered its approach, not the U.S. Having all your Peugeot's burned by a mob of coddled extremists will do that.
Read the article. France is getting on board with us. Bush is using Europe and the UN to setup Iran.
France changed its tune because it made billions in Arab countries and with the US success in Iraq, France was in danger of being left out of the "new middle-east".
I hope you're not referring to me.
Is that true that the US changes its approach in international affairs? If yes, is that because of America is bruised by Iraq war?
Explain that.
That's what I thought too. After all, the article itself says that France (and the other two) has worked behind the screen and warned Syria about the consequence of its actions since 2003.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569284/posts
Well, sometimes I also have some concerns when people write something. But what I do usually check the history of postings of that person.
I won't give the WaPo the benefit of a cookie.
France is getting on board with us. Bush is using Europe and the UN to setup Iran.
Half of which is fine with me.
France changed its tune because it made billions in Arab countries and with the US success in Iraq, France was in danger of being left out of the "new middle-east".
More accurately, France is in danger of losing Total Fina's total lock on Iraqi oil. So they're still pushing the Euro as a petro-currency, which is what Iran is doing in setting up their Euro-based oil bourse. My bet is that they're hedging on the outcome by talking with us while still looking for the opportunity to print reserve currency without consequence. On the flip side, we're fighting tooth and nail to keep those petrodollars from coming home.
Yup..that's the one...
<< If anyone thinks the US and France have stopped working behind the scenes, they are fooling themselves. >>
In intelligence matters, America is 100 times closer to France than to once great Britain which is essentially not-trusted and barely escapes being State Department tagged as the terrorist-appeasing, facilitating, sustaining and harboring state that it is.
Only its participation in Iraq prevents Britain - and even then only politically - being tagged a terrorist-harboring state.
<< The UN will do anything and everything within its power to bring the United States to heel. >>
Who would be surprised by that? After all, the UN was established for that very purpose and its very charter was written by our most impacable enemy. [And its State Department lickspittles] The UN has only ever existed and exists to this day for that single purpose.
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