U.S. DEFENCE SECRETARY: GERMANY AND FRANCE ARE ``OLD EUROPE''

DeutschePress via Bloomberg, no url | 1/22/3

[NativeNewYorker]

   Washington (dpa) - U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said

Wednesday that the United States has support from a ''vast number'' of

European nations for its position on Iraq, which includes the possible

use of military force. 

   Responding to announcements earlier this week by Germany and France

saying they would not support a U.N. resolution backing a military

attack, Rumsfeld said he thinks of the two countries as ''old

Europe''.

   ''The centre of gravity is shifting to the east,'' he said.

''Germany has been a problem, France has been a problem. But when you

look at vast numbers of other countries, they are not with France and

Germany on this. They are with the United States.''

   German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said late Tuesday that his

government would not support a U.S. military assault to force Iraq's

compliance with U.N. disarmament resolutions or to oust Iraqi leader

Saddam Hussein. 

   The opposition of France and Germany had earlier overshadowed

Monday's ministerial meeting on terrorism at the U.N. Security

Council, when German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer repeated his

government's aversion to military action against Iraq. His French

colleague, Dominique de Villepin, later held a lengthy press

conference in which he called war ''the worst'' solution and hinted

that France might veto a resolution calling for military action. 

   Fischer's comments prompted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to

depart from his prepared remarks and warn the council that it risked

''impotence'' if it did not stand firm against Iraq.

   Powell told newspaper journalists in an interview that Fischer

''got off into another direction'' and ''overwhelmed what the purpose

of the conference was all about''.

   Powell said he called de Villepin Tuesday afternoon for ''a

conversation''. He described it as ''a candid and honest, forthright

exchange of views'', language that usually denotes sharp disagreement.

   U.S. officials have denied that Powell was ''sandbagged'' in an

''ambush'' at the Security Council, and Powell called the French

opposition to the U.S. position ''a blip'', expressing hope that the

French ''will come to the understanding of the need'' for the U.S.

strategy of confronting Saddam.

[areafiftyone]

Leave it to Rummy to state the truth. Now if we cold just get him to use the term EUROWEENIES! :-)

[Cicero]

Fischer's comments prompted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to depart from his prepared remarks and warn the council that it risked ''impotence'' if it did not stand firm against Iraq.

This is precisely what Bush said earlier, in his first speech to the Security Council last summer.

If France and Germany say "No," and the U.S. goes ahead anyway, that will merely show that they are powerless and not worth listening to.

Moreover, I hope Bush cuts them out of the oil.

[areafiftyone]

cold=could

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[TheBlueMax]

The French. And now the Germans. I guess when we get inside Iraq, we'll see a lot of "Made in France" components.

[wideawake]

It's interesting. 1300 years ago, Charlemagne's grandfather rescued Europe from Muslim domination and he himself united France and Germany into a Christian empire - his grandchildren began a split between France and Germany which would not be healed into the present day. Now France and Germany are uniting again, and the grandchildren of this generation will give Europe back to the Muslims.

Amazing.

[NonZeroSum]

And he's driving a wedge between eastern and western Europe. We can incorporate the former into the Anglosphere and NAFTA, and let the socialists in western Europe stew in their own juices.

[Shermy]

Franco-Prussian empire vs. the rest of Europe evolving?

[wimpycat]

Fischer's comments prompted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to depart from his prepared remarks and warn the council that it risked ''impotence'' if it did not stand firm against Iraq.

I wonder if Powell really used the word "impotence" and the phrase "stand firm". LOL! If he did that was an oh-so-subtle dig at Germany! LOL! I wonder if the precise implications of those words translate well into German. I sure hope so.

If you don't "stand firm", you're "impotent"! Of course! ROFL!

[habs4ever]

My, what candor! Rummy has consigned them to irrelevance and you can be this will lead to all kinds of denunciations in the Paris/Berlin media channels.How dare he!The Gallic shrug will turn into a howling rooster on being told....whatever ;-)

France and Germany have only themselves to blame.

[JmyBryan]

Yes! Evolving into a third-world empire.

[MarkM]

Disarming Saddam with kill two birds with one stone. 1st we show Saddam he should have lived up to the cease fire agreement he made in 1991. 2nd we show France and Germany the United States is an independent nation after all and not controlled by France, Germany or the UN.

When did France get to decide if the US can defend itself or not?

[Wait4Truth]

Rumsfeld was absolutely great today. When his full remarks get posted later today, make sure to read the transcript. The Bush Administration is in full-court mode to either shame the weenies into action or declare the U.N. impotent and irrelevant.

[OXENinFLA]

I love it when he speaks.

The other day at the ROA speech. He was told they couldn't take questions. Rummy's response was “I vetoed that"

[areafiftyone]

He's just kewl!!! ;-)

[wideawake]

I think so.

Both England and Italy may go our way, and the former Eastern Bloc countries have some inclination to align with us.

Remember that each country has an equal vote in the EU regardless of size. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, the Ukraine, the UK, Spain and Italy could give us a majority on many EU votes.

[Diana Rose]

Being discribed as "old europe" as to be like an elbow to the kidneys for europe. ^ 5 Rummy.

[LibFreeUSA]

The France and Germany, marginalizing themselves. They have no military importance in our security. They face no external threats to their countries anymore (no more Cold War / Soviet threat of invasion - destruction of their countries), so what use is the USA to them?

Well, why should we 'bend over' to these guys, when our national security is threatened? - I AGREE with Bush. 'Screw them!'

[expatpat]

France has surrendered before the war started, apparently.