1940 ... swaggering Hitler and cronies
pose in front of Eiffel Tower
Posted on 02/11/2003 8:09:45 PM PST by Pokey78
FRANCE was last night accused of plunging down the “catastrophic” route of appeasement which led to World War Two.
In the 1930s Europe acknowledged Adolf Hitler’s Germany was a growing danger but did little about it.
Within five years — on June 22, 1940 — the gloating tyrant was posing for victory snaps in front of Paris’s Eiffel Tower.
Today Saddam Hussein’s Iraq threatens world peace.
And though Saddam has no plans for conquering France, experts warn the principles are the same.
Yet just when we need to stand firm, French president Jacques Chirac risks fatally undermining the future of Nato.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw hit back yesterday, declaring in a London speech:
“If we fail to back our words with deeds, we will follow one of the most catastrophic precedents in history.
“The descent into war in the 1930s is a searing reminder of the dangers of turning a blind eye whilst international law is subverted by the law of the jungle.”
Mr Straw blasted the turncoat French who agreed only two months ago to fully back Nato’s involvement in the bid to topple Saddam.
On Monday France, along with Germany and Belgium, vetoed a Nato plan to supply Turkey with missiles and early warning aircraft to protect its border with Iraq.
Mr Straw went on: “This is a serious issue. Inaction in the face of a threat to an ally risks eroding the solemn commitments which underlie the North Atlantic Treaty.
“It risks undermining the transatlantic defence relationship which served every ally so well during the Cold War and the turbulent decade which followed. It remains the fundamental basis for our defence against the new threats which confront us today.”
Mr Straw also totally rejected a plan dreamed up by France and Germany, and backed by Russia, to simply send more UN weapons inspectors to Iraq.
He asked: “If Saddam bows to the UN’s demands and cooperates promptly, what is the need for greater numbers of inspectors?”
A string of EU countries lined up yesterday to blast the French — including Norway, Holland and Spain.
Norway’s Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold said protecting member states was “the most fundamental rule in Nato on which we, too, base our security.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said: “There is one man and one regime that can profit from this: Saddam Hussein.”
Last night Nato chiefs failed miserably to find a breakthrough in the crisis.
Crunch talks in Brussels were delayed for five hours as Secretary General Lord Robertson battled in vain to “knock heads together”.
Meanwhile furious US Secretary of State Colin Powell ordered France back into line within a day.
He said: “I hope Nato will be doing the right thing with respect to Turkey within the next 24 hours.”
In the Commons, Labour left-winger Jeremy Corbyn BACKED France.
He claimed: “The attitude taken by the French and some other countries in this time of crisis reflects a desire for peace rather than war.”
And MP Glenda Jackson said the Government had “markedly failed to convince the British people” of the need for war.
There were protests when she referred to “plucky little Belgium” before the Speaker cut her short because her question was too long.
ROFL!!
I hope these pics side-by-side become famous enough to be on a T-shirt or something.
You just gotta love the Italian solution....
Semper Fi
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