Free Republic

French connection armed Saddam By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES The United States stood by for years as supposed allies helped its enemies obtain the world's most dangerous weapons, reveals Bill Gertz, defense and national security reporter for The Washington Times, in the new book "Treachery" (Crown Forum). In this excerpt, he details France's persistence in arming Saddam Hussein. First of three excerpts New intelligence revealing how long France continued to supply and arm Saddam Hussein's regime infuriated U.S. officials as the nation prepared for military action against Iraq. The intelligence reports showing French assistance to Saddam ongoing in the...

The French government offered a surprise compromise to the US president, George Bush, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, according to a detailed investigation published in Vanity Fair this week. The report undermines the public perception of France standing resolutely against the US and Britain in the United Nations security council as the two countries tried to win a second resolution in support of war. According to a 25,000-word investigation into the diplomatic wranglings in that pre-war period, the French government was offering to cut a behind-the-scenes deal with the US government. At a lunch in the White...

<p>France has a "moral duty" to participate in the reconstruction of a postwar Iraq, even as it works to block a U.S.-led military strike against Saddam Hussein, French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said yesterday.</p> <p>But U.S. hopes for a major contribution from allies in the expensive rebuilding job in Iraq suffered a blow when a leading European Union foreign policy official said the deep divisions in Europe over the war could limit EU contributions after the conflict.</p>