France shifts its stance on the conflict in Iraq

The International Herald Tribune ^ | August 21, 2007 | Katrin Bennhold

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

PARIS: After years of shunning involvement in a war it said was wrong, France now believes it may hold the key to peace in Iraq, proposing itself as an "honest broker" between the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions.

The shift was one of the most concrete consequences yet of the thaw in French-American relations following the election in May of President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose administration no longer feels bound by the adamant refusal to take a role in Iraq that characterized the reign of his predecessor, Jacques Chirac.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

For those of us who think that foreign elections have no effect on the U.S., here are some more results of the election of Sarkozy in France. Pardon moi, I am going to uncork another bottle of Bordeaux, to have with my Camembert.

[LdSentinal]

Yes, I remember reading those posters on those threads writing, “Who gives a f*ck about France”?

[scoastie]

your ‘conversion’ is way cool..

[lapsus calami]

 

 

 

Pardon moi, I am going to uncork another bottle of Bordeaux, to have with my Camembert.

 

I second that - they haven't exactly been the most competant bunch when it comes to the ME/Southwest Asia.

 

 

 

 

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

So the ‘cheese-eating surrender monkeys’ are now the anti-war Democrats!

[shalom aleichem]

I thin the french wanted in before, just after we toppled Saddam, and USA said remember oil for food scandal, did the French not supply Iraq with WMD and/or parts? etc. The French just want the spoils without contributing to the win.

[Tarantulas]

So does this mean our Freedom fries are French fries again? Cool.

[Bob J]

How French. (I’ll start capitalizing the word again based on this change of heart...or logic.)

[X-FID]

We’ll see, I doubt they’ll do anything meaningful.

We don’t really need them anyway.

[ken21]

the enemy of my enemy can change frequently.

now, we’re best buds with the frenchies and at odds with the brits.

[MichaelP]

It's gonna take a little more than posturing...

Mike

[Sandreckoner]

Lack of a French presence in the diplomatic sphere has probably had little impact to this point inside Iraq itself, and certainly the lack of a French military presence a nearly-moot point given that there is little they could have contributed in the first place.

I would suspect that the change in stance is in large part a toe-dipping exercise while waiting to see if the sputtering breeze of change turns into a full-blown wind.

[Mr. Silverback]

How can i n0ot love a guy who wants to help—really help, not just take credit—in Iraq, and vacations less than 50 miles from where I grew up in Maine?

Vive la France! Vive Sarkozy!

[Triggerhippie]

Many things changed when the party that had the food for oil scandal (and military contracts w/ Saddam) got voted out.

[Bob J]

uhh, we haven’t won yet and the French could help.

Quit looking a gift horse in the mouth...all you’ll see is yellow teeth.

[Sandreckoner]

“.... sputtering breeze of change ....”

I meant of change in Iraq.

[Bushbacker1]

Obviously, surrender is somewhere in the mix!

[RKV]

Honest broker my RIA. Shitrac and his cronies made a bunch of money by covertly supporting Saddam. When those bastards are in jail, then we can talk about honest. And Shitrac himself is one who should be wearing stripes...

[MinorityRepublican]

Actually this is good news, the French realize that we are in Iraq to stay. Even if the Democrats take over in 2008, do they really want to lose Iraq?

[Radix]

In case folks are too young to recall...After the 1973 Arab-Israel War, and the ensuing OPEC embargo,.....

It was the French and the Japanese who went out of their way to suck up to the oil producing anti-Israel nations and completely undermined American foreign policy.

The Frogs and the Nips have been our worst Economic enemies for the last 35 years or so.

You can keep your Bordeaux, Grey Goose, and Sake’, and share it with the rest of America’s true enemies.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I guess with the switches last year in Germany and this year in France it is OK to work with ‘Old Europe’ as well as continuing to work with the ‘New Europe’ to the East, and the improved northern Europe. In fact only Italy and Spain have temporarily gone the wrong way. In addition we have our old Canadian friends under Harper, with even the leader of the Quebecois giving the WOT more support than the traitorcrats.

It is a shame how Bush has gotten the whole world to line up against us — right?

[Shermy]

“It’s gonna take a little more than posturing...”

Selling of oil drilling privileges coming soon. France positioning itself for some favorable deals.

[jjw]

This better not be the end of belly girl. Where is she anyways? Anyone?

[SandRat]

BEWARE!!!! FRENCH OFFERING HELP!!!

[liberallarry]

here are some more results of the election of Sarkozy in France.

the French move carries the personal mark of Kouchner, who was one of the few French politicians who backed the forcible removal of Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and whose longstanding and close relations with Kurdish and Shiite leaders have earned him credibility in the region.

Yep. It brought this guy to power.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

the party that had the food for oil scandal (and military contracts w/ Saddam) got voted out

Actually, Sarkozy is in the same party as Chirac and that weasel Villepin. One of the lessons of this is the importance of working to nominate the best possible candidate for your party. When you do that, the general election more or less takes care of itself.

[Bob J]

Do you think the term “nips” is an acceptable term to use on this Forum?

[rfp1234]

[Bob J]

Money is always involved, make it work for you.

[Bob J]

Things can change. Let is not be so entrenched that we miss good opportunities.

[Triggerhippie]

Actually, Sarkozy is in the same party

Wow! How did they end up being so politically different? Or should we (the U.S.) be waiting for the other shoe to drop?

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

I thought George W. Bush was “alienating” all our traditional allies.

Oddly enough, those same allies have been replaced with politicians more friendly to the US.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Wow! How did they end up being so politically different?

In the last couple of decades the right and center in France have consolidated into the coalition party these folks all are members of. Similarly the left has almost completely joined under the Socialist banner, with the Communist party nearly going out of existence, and voting with the Socialists in runoffs.

So France has been slowly evolving into a two-party political structure, with broad coalitions making up the parties. The Sarkozy faction defeated the Chirac - Villepin faction. It's the same process as Rockefeller vs. Goldwater in the GOP (not using a modern day contest, which would lead to topic-hijacking by partisans here at FR).

[Radix]

"Do you think the term “nips” is an acceptable term to use on this Forum?

 

The Actual formal Japanese name of Japan is Nippon, and the term "Nip' is perfectly acceptable. Only Americans have considered the term to be derogatory.

 

I would think that the term "frogs" designating French persons should be considered to be much more degrading!

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Yes, I remember reading those posters on those threads writing, “Who gives a f*ck about France”?

Ha ha ha ha I didn't before the war and still don't.

To Little to Late

[Bob J]

“Nips” has historically been a deragatory term for Japanese and your use of it only gives FR’s enemies ammunition to use against us. You can use it if you wish and mods can delete your posts if they find it offensive, but you could save everyone a whole lot of trouble by thinking first before you post.

[ricks_place]

ZUT-ALORS!

Or, as left-leaning Le Monde put it: "It's time to stop lecturing the Americans about their errors and start contributing to a solution."

[Bob J]

As far as “frogs” I thought it had something to do with eating frog legs...something I do on occasion with relish. Maybe some astute FReepers could enlighten us on the history of this term.

[JerseyHighlander]

PARIS: After years of shunning involvement in a war it said was wrong, France now believes it may hold the key to peace in Iraq, proposing itself as an "honest broker" between the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions.

Welcome the new boss, same as the old boss. This is a slight shift in public appearances for what is in essence a continued strategy of the Chirac regime. Divide and conquer, and find deals and influence for French business interests in the churn.

[kanawa]

Ping

[Bob J]

Healthy skepticism is a virtue, but blind obedience is not.

Sometimes a wait and see attitude can be profitable.

[Radix]

If you must be anal about the matter.

 

Wikkepedia has an introductory course on Nippon for you.

 

Japan (help·info) (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon,^? officially 日本国 Nihon-koku or Nippon-koku) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

 

 If you'd like to know more about the nips and the law of Bushido and the evolution of the Samurai Culture into a modern day Democratic powerhouse and ally of the United States who just so happened to have invoked their Right to assert their nationalistic "interests" which were in conflict with OUR national interests 30 years ago then perhaps you'd consider reading some history, or maybe even talking with a few Japanese -Americans.

 

Personally, I think that you can stick your politically correct BS up where the land of the rising sun does not rise.

[Bob J]

Are you denying that the term “nip” is considered deragatory?

[Vietnam Vet From New Mexico]

Are you the Political Correctness moderator?

[Bob J]

No, I’m the “let’s not give our enemies the bat with which to hit us over the head” monitor.

Whether it’s unfortunate or not, every post on FR reflects on everyone.

[Bob J]

Thanks for being so sunny side up.

[AppyPappy]

If you are a WW2 vet, you can call them any damn thing you want (according to my dad anyway).

Since we aren’t WW2 vets, it’s probably best to leave the name-calling outside.

[stboz]

Even if the broker is honest, there is the small matter that the clientel are not all honest themselves. Taqiyah to the max.

[caisson71]

Everybody loves a winner.

[wgflyer]

So does this mean our Freedom fries are French fries again? Cool.

One could just say...fries.