Posted on 09/04/2002 1:56:47 PM PDT by kattracks
France said it was against publishing top-secret evidence on Iraq's alleged development of weapons of mass destruction, saying the public arena was not the place to wage such a campaign.
"These are not issues which we can deal with publicly. This calls for serenity and seriousness, and we should therefore beware of any leaks and any saber-rattling proposals," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told France Info radio.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would in the coming weeks release damning information about Baghdad's alleged efforts to develop nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, to prove the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.
The foreign minister said that France and Britain had shared information on the proof of such a weapons program. and it "is out of the question to divulge these exchanges."
De Villepin said it was important to act responsibly in evaluating whether a "country could own chemical or biological weapons, and if it could turn into a threat."
He added it was important that France evaluate such risks together with its European partners.
"The international community is today very worried, which justifies our determination in the face of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
Washington on Wednesday stepped up its war rhetoric, with President George W. Bush calling Saddam Hussein a "serious threat" and saying he would take his case against Iraq to the United Nations next week.
De Villepin said "France, the world, cannot accommodate such a risk, and that is why we demand with insistance the return of the UN (weapons) inspectors to Iraq and that the country conforms with the demands of the international community."
If it did, he stressed, it was up to the UN Security Council to decide on any international action.
UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998 in the face of an imminent US and British missile attack on Baghdad, and have since been barred from returning despite insistent UN demands.
What did France know and when did they know it? And why are they afraid of the rest of the world being given this evidence?
Because the French have historically been one of Iraq's biggest trading partners. Were I in Blair's shoes, I would use this information as a boot on Chirac's neck to get him to behave.
Regards, Ivan
Because...
Our friends the French.
We didn't need this much evidence when we saved France in two World Wars and protected them from the Iron Curtain.
Maybe if a mustard gas bomb, like the ones Saddam used on his own people, killed some frogs in Paris; they might have enough evidence then.
Give the "world community" the middle finger and start killing dictators.
Because thay are sucking up to the bully. It is better for them to know the US is the target than to get Hussein out at the risk of their country becoming a terrorist target too. Part of the cheese eating surrender monkey Gallic approach to threats.
Does France have a mutual protection pact with Iraq? Will France be forced into war, but on the losing side? Will the world finally be rid of that steel monstrosity that overshadows the Louvre?
I sure hope GWB has it arranged for some Russian troops to participate. It will be nice to see them to set up in areas of French energy leases - let's see the French get them out!
Is this one of those "Americans are unsophisticated" diatribes?
I don't remember where I read it, but France does get a substantial chunk of the money Iraq uses to buy overseas goods in the "Oil for Food" programme. France is one of the few countries willing to sell.
Regards, Ivan
France has this information .. Has known this information and YET tells the US we should sit on our hand and do NOTHING??
They Don't want this information known to the public .. why France .. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE???
Hey France .. here is a suggestion ... Bit Me
%$#@!(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monumental ego: a model of Saddam's planned mosque. It will be the world's largest. Currently under construction. Total estimated cost exceeds One Billion dollars. The model itself fills a large meeting room at an estimated cost of $500,000.00. French architect, Jacques Barriere, has been commissioned to design the structure, which will cover an area near Baghdad the size of 12 football pitches. It will be surrounded by a moat in which the crowning touch will be an island formed in the shape of Saddam's thumb, with the ground contoured exactly to match the leader's fingerprint. "It is so that when God looks down on this mosque he will see Saddam too," said Soler.
I sure as hell hope so .. those (#&*&$*(#()# pieces of ($#*&@#(#)(
Sorry for the language .. I am TICKED
Yeah, well, I guess; but only if you are willing to call a lack of appreciation for banal impregnation "unsophisticated."
Hmmmm.... do I have a spelling problem or, uh, well, um... Maybe I meant Brussles instead of Paris? Naw, it's both. have you ever been to Brussles? What an armpit! Oh yeah, I'm getting "off topic"... sorta.
Our friends the French.
There, I'm right back in line with the State Department. Thanks guys.
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