Chirac lobbies the Turks to deny US bases and overflight rights

Fred Barnes on Fox News | Me

[Dog]

Fred Barnes while on the panel tonight on Special Report just stated Chirac is urging the Turks not to allow us bases and overflight rights.

[FBD]

Celebrity Liberal Blacklist HERE. Find out whose movies and music to avoid, and also, who is on our side!

[Spruce]

Do NOT Ever use the word Nazi lightly. Unless you truly wish to join the Axis of Evil. America defeated the Nazi bastards and for people to use their name is an affront to all the men that worked to battle them. Shame on you. Shame on you!

[Maeve]

It wouldn't be a shooting war. The French would surrender the moment we landed. We should then evict all of the French to Germany.

[Defiant]

You still haven't provided me with a scenario where the United States is at war with France by year's end. Frankly, I think that notion is silly, but I'm willing to listen to you explain how that could come about. I'm still waiting.

[Straight Vermonter]

Can someone explain to me why France even has a permanent seat on the security council? They certainly can't justiify it by their population or by their economic clout.

Countries of the World (Population)

Country	Population 2001	Ranking
China	1,273,111,290	1
India	1,029,991,145	2
United States	278,058,881	3
Indonesia	228,437,870	4
Brazil	174,468,575	5
Russia	145,470,197	6
Pakistan	144,616,639	7
Bangladesh	131,269,860	8
Japan	126,771,662	9
Nigeria	126,635,626	10
Mexico	101,879,171	11
Germany	83,029,536	12
Philippines	82,841,518	13
Vietnam	79,939,014	14
Egypt	69,536,644	15
Turkey	66,493,970	16
Iran	66,128,965	17
Ethiopia	65,891,874	18
Thailand	61,797,751	19
United Kingdom	59,647,790	20
France	59,551,227	21
Italy	57,679,825	22
Congo Democratic Republic	53,624,718	23
Ukraine	48,760,474	24
Korea South	47,904,370	25
South Africa	43,586,097	26
Burma	41,994,678	27
Colombia	40,349,388	28
Spain	40,037,995	29
Poland	38,633,912	30
Argentina	37,384,816	31
Tanzania	36,232,074	32
Sudan	36,080,373	33
Algeria	31,736,053	34
Canada	31,592,805	35
Kenya	30,765,916	36
Morocco	30,645,305	37
Peru	27,483,864	38
Afghanistan	26,813,057	39
Nepal	25,284,463	40
Uzbekistan	25,155,064	41
Uganda	23,985,712	42
Venezuela	23,916,810	43
Iraq	23,331,985	44
Saudi Arabia	22,757,092	45
Taiwan	22,370,461	46
Romania	22,364,022	47
Malaysia	22,229,040	48
Korea North	21,968,228	49
Ghana	19,894,014	50
Sri Lanka	19,408,635	51
Mozambique	19,371,057	52
Australia	19,357,594	53
Yemen	18,078,035	54
Kazakhstan	16,731,303	55
Syria	16,728,808	56
Cote d'Ivoire	16,393,221	57
Madagascar	15,982,563	58
Netherlands	15,981,472	59
Cameroon	15,803,220	60
Chile	15,328,467	61
Ecuador	13,183,978	62
Guatemala	12,974,361	63
Cambodia	12,491,501	64
Burkina Faso	12,272,289	65
Zimbabwe	11,365,366	66
Cuba	11,184,023	67
Mali	11,008,518	68
Yugoslavia	10,677,290	69
Greece	10,623,835	70
Malawi	10,548,250	71
Angola	10,366,031	72
Niger	10,355,156	73
Belarus	10,350,194	74
Senegal	10,284,929	75
Czech Republic	10,264,212	76
Belgium	10,258,762	77
Hungary	10,106,017	78
Portugal	10,066,253	79
Zambia	9,770,199	80
Tunisia	9,705,102	81
Sweden	8,875,053	82
Chad	8,707,078	83
Dominican Republic	8,581,477	84
Bolivia	8,300,463	85
Austria	8,150,835	86
Azerbaijan	7,771,092	87
Bulgaria	7,707,495	88
Guinea	7,613,870	89
Somalia	7,488,773	90
Rwanda	7,312,756	91
Switzerland	7,283,274	92
Hong Kong	7,210,505	93
Haiti	6,964,549	94
Benin	6,590,782	95
Tajikistan	6,578,681	96
Honduras	6,406,052	97
El Salvador	6,237,662	98
Burundi	6,223,897	99
Israel	5,938,093	100
Paraguay	5,734,139	101
Laos	5,635,967	102
Sierra Leone	5,426,618	103
Slovakia	5,414,937	104
Denmark	5,352,815	105
Libya	5,240,599	106
Finland	5,175,783	107
Jordan	5,153,378	108
Togo	5,153,088	109
Papua New Guinea	5,049,055	110
Georgia	4,989,285	111
Nicaragua	4,918,393	112
Kyrgyzstan	4,753,003	113
Turkmenistan	4,603,244	114
Norway	4,503,440	115
Moldova	4,431,570	116
Croatia	4,334,142	117
Singapore	4,300,419	118
Eritrea	4,298,269	119
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,922,205	120
New Zealand	3,864,129	121
Ireland	3,840,838	122
Costa Rica	3,773,057	123
Lebanon	3,627,774	124
Lithuania	3,610,535	125
Central African Republic	3,576,884	126
Albania	3,510,484	127
Uruguay	3,360,105	128
Armenia	3,336,100	129
Liberia	3,225,837	130
Congo Republic of the Congo	2,894,336	131
Panama	2,845,647	132
Mauritania	2,747,312	133
Jamaica	2,665,636	134
Mongolia	2,654,999	135
Oman	2,622,198	136
United Arab Emirates	2,407,460	137
Latvia	2,385,231	138
Lesotho	2,177,062	139
Bhutan	2,049,412	140
Macedonia	2,046,209	141
Kuwait	2,041,961	142
Slovenia	1,930,132	143
Namibia	1,797,677	144
Botswana	1,586,119	145
Estonia	1,423,316	146
Gambia The	1,411,205	147
Guinea-Bissau	1,315,822	148
Gabon	1,221,175	149
Mauritius	1,189,825	150
Trinidad and Tobago	1,169,682	151
Swaziland	1,104,343	152
Fiji	844,330	153
Qatar	769,152	154
Cyprus	762,887	155
Guyana	697,181	156
Bahrain	645,361	157
Comoros	596,202	158
Equatorial Guinea	486,060	159
Solomon Islands	480,442	160
Djibouti	460,700	161
Macau	453,733	162
Luxembourg	442,972	163
Suriname	433,998	164
Martinique	418,454	165
Cape Verde	405,163	166
Malta	394,583	167
Brunei	343,653	168
Maldives	310,764	169
Bahamas The	297,852	170
Iceland	277,906	171
Barbados	275,330	172
Belize	256,062	173
Vanuatu	192,910	174
Samoa	179,058	175
Sao Tome and Principe	165,034	176
Saint Lucia	158,178	177
Micronesia Federated	134,597	178
Saint Vincent and Grenadines	115,942	179
Tonga	104,227	180
Kiribati	94,149	181
Grenada	89,227	182
Seychelles	79,715	183
Marshall Islands	70,822	184
Dominica	70,786	185
Andorra	67,627	186
Antigua and Barbuda	66,970	187
Saint Kitts and Nevis	38,756	188
Liechtenstein	32,528	189
Monaco	31,842	190
San Marino	27,336	191
Palau	19,092	192
Nauru	12,088	193
Tuvalu	10,991	194
Holy See (Vatican City)	890	195

 

GDP per capita** (July 1, 2001) 

Country	GDP per capita	Ranking
Luxembourg	$36,400	1
United States	$36,200	2
Bermuda	$33,000	3
San Marino	$32,000	4
Switzerland	$28,600	5
Aruba	$28,000	6
Norway	$27,700	7
Monaco	$27,000	8
Singapore	$26,500	9
Denmark	$25,500	10
Hong Kong	$25,400	11
Belgium	$25,300	12
Austria	$25,000	13
Japan	$24,900	14
Canada	$24,800	15
Iceland	$24,800	16
Jersey	$24,800	17
Cayman Islands	$24,500	18
France	$24,400	19
Netherlands	$24,400	20
Germany	$23,400	21
Australia	$23,200	22
Liechtenstein	$23,000	23
Finland	$22,900	24
United Arab Emirates	$22,800	25
United Kingdom	$22,800	26
Sweden	$22,200	27
Italy	$22,100	28
Ireland	$21,600	29
Guam	$21,000	30
Qatar	$20,300	31
Faroe Islands	$20,000	32
Greenland	$20,000	33
Guernsey	$20,000	34
Falkland Islands	$19,000	35
Israel	$18,900	36
Man Isle of	$18,800	37
Andorra	$18,000	38
Spain	$18,000	39
New Zealand	$17,700	40
Brunei	$17,600	41
Gibraltar	$17,500	42
Macau	$17,500	43
Taiwan	$17,400	44
Greece	$17,200	45
Korea South	$16,100	46
Cyprus - Greek Cypriot Area	$16,000	47
British Virgin Islands	$16,000	48
Bahrain	$15,900	49
Portugal	$15,800	50
Bahamas The	$15,000	51
Kuwait	$15,000	52
New Caledonia	$15,000	53
Virgin Islands	$15,000	54
Barbados	$14,500	55
Malta	$14,300	56
Argentina	$12,900	57
Czech Republic	$12,900	58
Northern Mariana Islands	$12,500	59
Slovenia	$12,000	60
Netherlands Antilles	$11,400	61
Hungary	$11,200	62
Martinique	$11,000	63
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	$11,000	64
French Polynesia	$10,800	65
Saudi Arabia	$10,500	66
Mauritius	$10,400	67
Malaysia	$10,300	68
Slovakia	$10,200	69
Chile	$10,100	70
Estonia	$10,000	71
Puerto Rico	$10,000	72
Trinidad and Tobago	$9,500	73
Uruguay	$9,300	74
Mexico	$9,100	75
Guadeloupe	$9,000	76
Libya	$8,900	77
Poland	$8,500	78
South Africa	$8,500	79
Anguilla	$8,200	80
Antigua and Barbuda	$8,200	81
American Samoa	$8,000	82
Oman	$7,700	83
Russia	$7,700	84
Seychelles	$7,700	85
Belarus	$7,500	86
Fiji	$7,300	87
Lithuania	$7,300	88
Turks and Caicos Islands	$7,300	89
Latvia	$7,200	90
World Average	$7,200	91
Palau	$7,100	92
Saint Kitts and Nevis	$7,000	93
Turkey	$6,800	94
Costa Rica	$6,700	95
Thailand	$6,700	96
Botswana	$6,600	97
Brazil	$6,500	98
Tunisia	$6,500	99
Gabon	$6,300	100
Iran	$6,300	101
Bulgaria	$6,200	102
Colombia	$6,200	103
Venezuela	$6,200	104
French Guiana	$6,000	105
Panama	$6,000	106
Romania	$5,900	107
Croatia	$5,800	108
Dominican Republic	$5,700	109
Algeria	$5,500	110
Cyprus - Turkish Cypriot Area	$5,300	111
Cook Islands	$5,000	112
Kazakhstan	$5,000	113
Lebanon	$5,000	114
Montserrat	$5,000	115
Nauru	$5,000	116
Guyana	$4,800	117
Paraguay	$4,750	118
Georgia	$4,600	119
Peru	$4,550	120
Saint Lucia	$4,500	121
Grenada	$4,400	122
Macedonia The Former Yugoslav	$4,400	123
Namibia	$4,300	124
Turkmenistan	$4,300	125
Dominica	$4,000	126
El Salvador	$4,000	127
Swaziland	$4,000	128
Ukraine	$3,850	129
Philippines	$3,800	130
Guatemala	$3,700	131
Jamaica	$3,700	132
China	$3,600	133
Egypt	$3,600	134
Jordan	$3,500	135
Morocco	$3,500	136
Suriname	$3,400	137
Sri Lanka	$3,250	138
Belize	$3,200	139
Samoa	$3,200	140
Syria	$3,100	141
Albania	$3,000	142
Armenia	$3,000	143
Azerbaijan	$3,000	144
Ecuador	$2,900	145
Indonesia	$2,900	146
Niue	$2,800	147
Saint Vincent and the Grenadin	$2,800	148
Honduras	$2,700	149
Kyrgyzstan	$2,700	150
Nicaragua	$2,700	151
Bolivia	$2,600	152
Iraq	$2,500	153
Moldova	$2,500	154
Papua New Guinea	$2,500	155
Saint Helena	$2,500	156
Zimbabwe	$2,500	157
Lesotho	$2,400	158
Uzbekistan	$2,400	159
Yugoslavia	$2,300	160
India	$2,200	161
Tonga	$2,200	162
Equatorial Guinea	$2,000	163
Maldives	$2,000	164
Mauritania	$2,000	165
Micronesia Federated States of	$2,000	166
Pakistan	$2,000	167
Solomon Islands	$2,000	168
Wallis and Futuna	$2,000	169
Vietnam	$1,950	170
Ghana	$1,900	171
Haiti	$1,800	172
Mongolia	$1,780	173
Bosnia and Herzegovina	$1,700	174
Cameroon	$1,700	175
Cape Verde	$1,700	176
Central African Republic	$1,700	177
Cuba	$1,700	178
Laos	$1,700	179
Marshall Islands	$1,670	180
Cote d'Ivoire	$1,600	181
Senegal	$1,600	182
Bangladesh	$1,570	183
Burma	$1,500	184
Kenya	$1,500	185
Togo	$1,500	186
West Bank	$1,500	187
Nepal	$1,360	188
Cambodia	$1,300	189
Djibouti	$1,300	190
Guinea	$1,300	191
Vanuatu	$1,300	192
Tajikistan	$1,140	193
Bhutan	$1,100	194
Congo Republic of the	$1,100	195
Gambia The	$1,100	196
Liberia	$1,100	197
Sao Tome and Principe	$1,100	198
Tuvalu	$1,100	199
Uganda	$1,100	200
Benin	$1,030	201
Angola	$1,000	202
Burkina Faso	$1,000	203
Chad	$1,000	204
Gaza Strip	$1,000	205
Korea North	$1,000	206
Mozambique	$1,000	207
Niger	$1,000	208
Sudan	$1,000	209
Tokelau	$1,000	210
Nigeria	$950	211
Malawi	$900	212
Rwanda	$900	213
Zambia	$880	214
Guinea-Bissau	$850	215
Kiribati	$850	216
Mali	$850	217
Yemen	$820	218
Afghanistan	$800	219
Madagascar	$800	220
Burundi	$720	221
Comoros	$720	222
Eritrea	$710	223
Tanzania	$710	224
Congo Democratic Republic of t	$600	225
Ethiopia	$600	226
Mayotte	$600	227
Somalia	$600	228
Sierra Leone	$510	229

 

** GDP dollar estimates for all countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method involves the use of standardized international dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of final goods and services produced in a given economy.  The data derived from the PPP method provide the best available starting point for comparisons of economic strength and well-being between countries.  The division of a GDP estimate in domestic currency by the corresponding PPP estimate in dollars gives the PPP conversion rate.  Whereas PPP estimates for OECD countries are quite reliable, PPP estimates for developing countries are often rough approximations.  Most of the GDP estimates are based on extrapolation of PPP numbers published by the UN International Comparison Program (UNICP) and by Professors Robert Summers and Alan Heston of the University of Pennsylvania and their colleagues. In contrast, the currency exchange rate method involves a variety of international and domestic financial forces that often have little relation to domestic output. In developing countries with weak currencies the exchange rate estimate of GDP in dollars is typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP estimate. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or down by 10% or more because of market forces or official fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. On 12 January 1994, for example, the 14 countries of the African Financial Community (whose currencies are tied to the French franc) devalued their currencies by 50%. This move, of course, did not cut the real output of these countries by half. One important caution:  the proportion of, say, defense expenditures as a percentage of GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer tries to estimate the dollar level of Russian or Japanese military expenditures. Note: the numbers for GDP and other economic data can not be chained together from successive volumes of the Factbook because of changes in the US dollar measuring rod, revisions of data by statistical agencies, use of new or different sources of information, and changes in national statistical methods and practices.

Source of Information: CIA - The World Factbook 2001

[Defiant]

You never have a squad close enough to each other that a single hand grenade will get you all...

LOL. My college football coach always used to scream at us when we got bunched up in the Defensive backfield. He'd say "One hand grenade would get you all!".

[RS]

Have you got the numbers from when France got it's seat ?

[Defiant]

No wonder the US has the 2nd highest rated economy--they measured it in Dollars!

[Kviteseid]

I'm really upset with the french... What ever we can do to make a hit on their economy.

Let's start by declaring their prissy concorde a hazard, and banning it from our airspace?

I'm open to further actions... as far as the french are concerned!

[Spruce]

America has embarked on a war of self-preservation. Afghanistan was campaign 1. Iraq is campaign next. While undertaking the Iraq campaign we find that France is beneath ally. Beneath neutral. We find they are foe. It may happen.

[Defiant]

When France got its seat, it had just come from 5 years of occupation in which many of its citizens had collaborated. It had no economy, we had to rebuilt it. Its colonies had gone to hell, and many decided they didn't need the French after 5 years of being on their own. They didn't deserve the seat, it was given to them because we nurtured the fiction of France being a power so we could have another ally at our side to balance against the Soviet Union.

Little did we know that someday the Russians would be better friends than the French.

[RS]

"France may indeed be trying to keep us out of a nuclear ambush by our old commie enemies..... "

Please believe that I say this reluctantly, but even if all our forces in that area were toast, we would still be by far the strongest military force on the planet.

[Spruce]

Nay! I submit this has happened.

[a_Turk]

>> Why on earth would Turkey even want to join the EU?

Many reasons. Similar in realism to the Turkish Cypriots wanting to rejoin the Greek Cypriots who butchered them.

Mostly though it's economical: we don't get much trade even though we manfacture nearly everything and have a young workforce, and it's also about an inferiority complex: we've been fighting on our backs now for 3 centuries and many of us seem to think that being an EU member will mean acceptance as a peer.

How wrong they are.. We need to exact our pound of flesh and let them pound salt.

[Defiant]

So, boiled down, the facts to support your statement are that we now know that France is a foe. So are about 50 other countries. New Zealand and Canada, Belgium and Sweden are waffling weasels, too. Are we going to war with all of them? I don't think so.

To be in war with France, our militaries will have to confront each other, and one side will have to start shooting. I can't foresee that happening.

I thought maybe you had something specific in mind, but I see now that you did not.

FYI, I wrote this on Feb. 24:

Nato, ANZUS, the OAS, and Seato and all the other alphabet soup organizations set up in the Cold War were designed by the US to further its interests of protecting our allies worldwide from Communist aggression. No organization, other than perhaps NORAD, was set up to defend the US from military attack. The idea would have been considered absurd had it been proposed; if we needed Europe's help, then the free world was in deep doo-doo already.

So, we spent our money, and we manned the ramparts, and we lost some lives along the way, and lo and behold! We won the war. The Commies surrendered, and one superpower was left standing. All those countries that were part of the alphabet soup organizations, including France, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, survived the threat of nuclear war without a scratch, coming through with their nations sovereign and their people free. Because of that, because we've eliminated the Soviet threat from their home continent, we have also eliminated their need for us.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happens, and, mon dieu, it is the US, their protector, that is under attack. And what do we see? That the protection of all those treaties and alliances set up during the cold war flowed in one direction. Had France been attacked on 9/11 with the Eiffel Tower blown up and its military installations bombed, is there any doubt that the US would be doing exactly the same thing that it is doing that it is doing now? Yet France and the other "axis of weasel" countries, Germany and Belgium, the "frenchlings" of the world, refuse to extend to the US the same understanding of what an alliance entails.

They are no longer our friends, they are no longer allies, they are not quite enemies, but their support for our enemies endangers our people and so makes them akin to an enemy. They are opponents. We cannot be tied in mutual defense treaties with opponents, especially those who fail to follow their obligations in the very first instance when they have been called on for help. The schism with France will result in the death of Nato, could help bust up the EU and dreams of European unity, and will result in the end of the UN as anything other than a debating society. When all this comes about, it will be the French, more than the Russians, more than the Chinese, who caused it. It did not have to be this way--the UN and Nato might have done the right thing, and France might have been a good ally, dragged slowly but eventually to vote for disarmament of Iraq, as we all thought it would back when 1441 passed. Something happened since then, something that will change the structure of the international community for a long time to come. If justice is served, that structure will be changed to the great detriment of France and its fellow frenchlings.

[Kviteseid]

When was the last time france has saved us from an ambush?

france is trying to save themselves from moral bankruptcy.

I repeat... let's hit them where it hurts... in the pocket book!

[CyberAnt]

Actually, I believe Blair has had a rather "sharp" telephone call with Chirac. Evidently, it has brought about some change - Chirac is now backing down slightly in his demands. We'll see.

[madison46]

Isn't Kalifornia ahead of France on those lists !

france is an enemy of the US

[RS]

"I repeat... let's hit them where it hurts... in the pocket book!"

No problem with that - Anything to express our displeasure ( better then saying punish them ) economically and politically is fine and appropriate - but in this situation I think it is a personal problem of their leadership that should not fall too hard on the French people.
- Kind of like "don't blame us- most of the US didn't vote for Clinton"

[Spruce]

With all due respect .
America has embarked on a war of self-preservation. Afghanistan was campaign 1. Iraq is campaign next. While undertaking the Iraq campaign we find that France is beneath ally. Beneath neutral. We find they are foe. It may happen. And if it turns that France is our foe their country is moot.