Posted on 04/16/2003 5:17:16 PM PDT by MadIvan
A clear-the-air telephone call between President Jacques Chirac and President George W Bush this week was secured only by repeated pleading from French diplomats, it emerged yesterday. The 20-minute call on Tuesday was the first time they had spoken for more than two months.
When asked if the talk had been "positive", Ari Fleischer, Mr Bush's spokesman, said: "From the President's point of view, he would call it a business-like conversation." M Chirac's spokesman said he had been "pragmatic" about post-war Iraq.
Before the call could be arranged, Jean-David Levitte, the French ambassador to Washington, had to lobby Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief political strategist, and Stephen Hadley, the deputy national security adviser, at the White House.
Final American agreement to the call was secured only after discussions on Monday between Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, and Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister.
Last week, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary, told senators: "The French have behaved in ways . . . that have been very damaging to Nato. I think France is going to pay some consequences, not just with us but with other countries."
A senior Bush administration official told The Washington Post: "What the French did . . . was serious and, yes, it is a problem. How much of a problem and how lasting it is going to be depend on the French. They can choose to make it much more serious, in which case the consequences will be there, and it will be very bad."
Mr Bush is known for being extremely slow to forgive those who have crossed him, particularly if he feels that they have been disloyal or dishonest. He was livid with Gerhard Schröder after the Chancellor's election campaign, which was widely seen as anti-American.
The anger towards France is deeper and more pervasive. French firms have suffered a loss of income from cancelled American orders and officials argue that the successful French attempt to scupper a second United Nations resolution extended far beyond M Chirac.
Mr Powell is understood to be still furious about the way in which he was treated by M de Villepin when he was called to a meeting supposedly about the international war against terrorism, only to be surprised by the French foreign minister declaring France's opposition to war with Iraq.
My toilet paper, my paper towels, my gum, small cases of canned fruit and vegetables, etc, etc.
I just bought Made in the USA plastic Easter eggs and grass and candy there! And left a message to the management to thank them for carrying USA when everyone else was carrying "Made in China."
I'm going to have to talk with the owner and double check if this is true. *sob* Poor guy.
Lucky you. My hair color product was L'Oreal. I bought a box of Clairol several weeks ago instead but am turning grey while I figure out how to use it.
I've switched from Perrier to club soda for the rest of this decade; but I only bought it for holiday meals, so I doubt they'll miss my business on this one.
On my only visit to France the only rudeness I found was outside their modern art museum, le Pompidou?, where a couple young men took my sunhat and tossed it around to harrass me....and a couple young desk clerks that were probably bored with everyone.
I tried to resurrect my college French for the trip with minimal success, but that may have helped us avoid more rudeness.
Nobody smelled bad either, so that's a myth, or it's true only for the lower classes.
The main things that struck me were how everybody smoked and all the cats and dogs that wandered happily around or slept blissfully, including inside restaurants and grocery stores.
Clinton's statements the last few days betray both a curious naivete about foreign policy and also an ill-disguised dislike of President Bush. I would like to know the whole story, myself.
This is an excellent analysis with my observations that in France and Germany, they want a different Prez in the US but want to keep the US tight with them. They foment a revolution from within the US.
Better yet, if indeed Clinton had assured them US friendship in a future admin, Chirac would lose nothing at crossing the US right now, politicaly speaking. All he needs is wait for the next elections and he gets his rewards for good behavior and taking a stand. It is obvious that the French would not jeopardize their relations with the US this way without a hedge in the future. What is sickening is that they also sided with Russia and China, which means a deeper orchestration is even possible, tricking France and Germany into those orbits and ushering the US ultimately to it.
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