Posted on 11/07/2007 5:19:53 PM PST by Kaslin
Following is the speech that French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivered Wednesday in a rare address by a foreign dignitary to a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives. U.S. lawmakers gave the French leader a three-minute standing ovation and his address was met bursts of warm applause.
Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen, the state of our friendship and our alliance is strong.
Friendship, first and foremost, means being true to one's friends. Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, the loyalty between the French and American people has never failed. And far from being weakened by the vicissitudes of history, it has never ceased growing stronger.
Friends may have differences; they may have disagreements; they may have disputes. But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, friends stand together, side by side; they support each other; and help one another. In times of difficulty, in times of hardship, America and France have always stood side by side, supported one another, helped one another, fought for each other's freedom.
The United States and France remain true to the memory of their common history, true to the blood spilled by their children in common battles. But they are not true merely to the memory of what they accomplished together in the past. They remain true, first and foremost, to the same ideal, the same principles, the same values that have always united them.
For what?
I appreciate Sarkozy’s sentiment, BUT that horse ran out of the barn a long time ago...
Read the speech and maybe you find out
America can count on France?
Count on them to What?
One universal truth, rated up there with Death and Taxes, is to Never depend on France, as it will stab you in the back every time.
Now,if we could only count on the Democrats.....not to screw us.
When such sanctions are agreed to by rational nations, we can then count on France to subvert those sanctions whenever possible.
We can count on France to meet with, and establish collateral planning with any nation which chooses to jump on the anti-American bandwagon; to provide succor and moral support to those nations as morally bankrupt as the French.
We can even count on direct aid to our enemies... as a tool of the long-time French national policy of opposing the United States at all turns.
But there are other things we can also count on.
Once the French begin to reap the whirlwind of those policies they have sown, we can count on their about-face to seek our aid.
We can count on the sanctimonious superiority of the Europeans to melt in the wind, once they begin to see that the shadow of U.S. military deterrence they have basked in, and taken advantage of, may no longer shield the world from the consequences of the unrelenting anti-American agenda popular for so long in the U.N.
When the Iranians sneer at threats from Paris, and laugh at the European mindset of diplomacy at all costs... the decried "dangerous unilateralism" of the United States to act against madmen, even if we must alone, ... suddenly carries less cache at afternoon tea.
When the chips begin to fall, we can always count on the French.
I like Sarkozy. While he is in office, I think we really can count on the French. Sarkozy gets it.
Expect more of the same in the near future. Europe is just starting to realize it is in another fight for survival, this time against Islamism, so they are going to start making nice with the one nation they think might be avle to save them (again). This sentiment is being magnified by the return of an old threat, namely Russia who just abrogated the treaty that keeps their forces off of the European borders.
That said, I don’t know if we will be able to save Europe this time around given how the traitorous left has and will continue to weaken us...
“When the chips begin to fall, we can always count on the French.”
You managed to say what I meant with one short sentence. Nice! BTW, all of Old Europe (esp. the population) has become French in this context...
Pinging myself to this thread to keep.
This speech showed to me that France is finally coming to realize that their highly valued culture is in jeopardy and that they have a whole lot more in common with us than they do with the muzzzies and their apologists.
We can count on Sarko probably on key policy.
Depend on France? The history of the last century argues strongly to the contrary.
In the end, you’ll be proven correct. Unfortunately.
That's why it's going to be double disappointing if it's just more hollow rhetoric. Like a woman telling you she loves you while she picks your pocket. Expensive and insulting.
Go Sarko!
Come on folks, give the guy a break. It’s refreshing to hear pro-American rhetoric with a Gallic accent. Accept it.
Even if he means what he says, let's see what happens when islam, russia, the namby-pamby euro-pricks, and china get france in their sites...
Nevertheless, He definitely understands the Middle Eastern problems that we all face. He chose Bernard Kouchner as his Foreign Minister. Kouchner was a very rare voice in France during the Chirac years that openly supported the invasion of Iraq. These two men will do all they can to work with us to contain the terrorist situations in the region. They will have some success and some failures with the French people, but we should appreciate their efforts. They are, after all, dealing with a sticky democracy as we all are.
For me, Europe is looking like a much stronger ally, and we need all the help we can get. With Sarkozy, Angela Merkle in Germany and Gordon Brown in the UK, I am encouraged. My only fear is that we may not elect a President in the US that can complement them.
I am now lifting my personal seven-year boycott of France under the disastrous Chirac regime, and wish Sarkozy all the very best in an extremely difficult job. Give the guy a chance.
France can be trusted for a little time and for a little effort. No further.
I would like to make one more point, though. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe. This fact gives support to your skepticism because it may likely circumscribe Sarkozy’s hopeful intentions on the Middle East issues. He has, however, been tested under these conditions before and stood admirably strong. (Witness the months of car burnings around France a few years ago during which time he didn’t waiver from leveling tough criticism at the attackers, unlike most other French politicians.) But, that situation could get grotesque again.
Despite the above, I still think Sarkozy has the same resolve that Blair had, and Blair faced an even greater problem with the more radical Pakistan population in the UK. I will continue to stay on the optimistic side.
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