Blair turns fury on French for wrecking Iraqi compromise

The Daily Telegraph ^ | March 14, 2003 | Toby Helm

[Praxeologue]

Laissez aller!

Allons!

[You Dirty Rats]

Chiraq appealed to rank anti-Americanism; he can't be surprosed if the UK and USA in turn light the anti-france fires.

[way-right-of-center]

30 years war? with the French?


naahh...more like 30 minutes. If the Brits stop for tea.

[slasher82]

I detect a slight odor also. Prepare yourselves because this whole thing could get very ugly. I'm sure that when Tony leaves office (or is pursuaded to), we surely have a place in "our" administration for someone of his character. Come on home, Tony.

[woofer]

The British public were not going to vote in favour of the euro anyway.

That has been my take on the British sentiment all along. Good move by Blair. How many Frenchmen vote in English elections, anyway.

As usual, another great and timely post by MadIvan.

[steve-b]

by accurately placing the blame on the French, he has stirred something deep inside the British character

There's an old line: "The wogs begin at Calais".

[Vigilanteman]

I say we invite the Brits to join NAFTA and pull out of the EC all together. After all, it was British ideas on human rights, natural law and limited government (notably John Locke) which gave us the ideas for our own revolution.

And it was French ideas about divine rights of kings, elitism and colonialism which gave George III the idea that America had to be put down.

[George W. Bush]

I suspect Blair used his (rather outrageous) demand to Saddam precisely to provoke the French into stupidity. And the French responded with a pre-emptive veto promise even before Iraq responded.

They handed Tony his "unreasonable veto" clause. And the Blair and Bush governments wasted no time pounding that home all day today.

Superb diplomatic maneuver, Britannia.

[Moose4]

I believe a poll posted on another thread tonight shows that support for an attack without UN approval is rapidly rising in the UK. It's still low, something like 26 percent, but it's going up steadily.

Methinks Jacque Ass may have overplayed his hand with regard to the UK. Let's hope. And let's roll.

}:-)4

[RummyChick]

check out the graphic the Sun did of Chiraq

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/864287/posts

[JasonC]

"a huge task in rebuilding relations"

So don't. They aren't worth rebuilding anyway. The US and UK should be looking at ways to make their own deals with eastern and southern Europe.

[Jorge]

As such this is a very clever thing to do; the tide has turned for Blair - by accurately placing the blame on the French, he has stirred something deep inside the British character. Now he will prevail.

I was thinking the exact same thing... this will ultimately play to Blair's advantage at home. Which is more important than France's vote by a long shot.

[Cate]

Thats it!!!! I've decided I am going to develop an enema fetish and Dominque is the recipent. over and over and over and over. But please don't tell anyone.

[VeniVidiVici]

Sorry if this is slightly off-topic but does anybody know the history of how the French even managed to get on the Security Council? And how did they manage to worm their way into becoming an occupied power of Germany?

Surely neither Churchill nor Roosevelt felt that the French made a significant enough contribution to the war effort to warrant inclusion in such post-war matters.

[merak]

The conclusion I come to wrt the French is that their most major problem is their diet. They say you are what you eat, and eating worms and snails and that sort of %$#@ simply can't do anybody any good. They'd all be better off eating at McDonalds thrice daily.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Thank you sir, and thanks to your PM.

Let's Roll

[CharacterCounts]

Will anyone hold them accountable, or will we all forgive and forget like Clinton's pardons and the theft of property and desecration of White House on their departure?

Both Bush and Blair will make token efforts to include France in the policing of Iraq after the war. Don't let the diplomatic niceties fool you. This situation has resulted in a permanent realignment of our interests with France and also (but to a lesser extent)Germany.

[Leto]

So the slimy Frogs are becomining concillatory?

Message to Chirac and his poodle Villapien....
Money talks Bulls**t walks.

We won't forget your backstabbing. Forget the Iraqi Oil contracts they're going to Exxon, Mobil and BP you schmucks.

[mrustow]

I will always have a special place in my heart reserved for Tony Blair.

In particular, he said, the row could seriously affect Mr Blair's willingness to do deals with the French on the convention on the future of Europe, being chaired by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the former French president.

I thought Giscard d'Estaing died years ago. Is he really alive, or did they stuff his corpse, and sit it upright on a big chair?