Posted on 02/19/2005 6:34:15 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Bush Says He Harbors No Bitterness Toward Chirac
Sat Feb 19, 2:03 PM ET Politics - Reuters
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) says he has no bitterness toward French President Jacques Chirac after their tussle over Iraq (news - web sites), but he is taking issue with a Chirac notion that a united Europe would serve as a counterbalance to the United States. In run-up to his trip to Europe, Bush underscored in media interviews with European journalists his second-term drive to foster improved trans-Atlantic relations and work on common problems like Iraqi reconstruction, Iran, Syria and the Middle East peace process.
"I know we had a difference of opinion," Bush said of U.S.-European strains over the Iraq war. "And it was a big difference of opinion on Iraq. But now is the time for us to set aside that difference and to move forward in areas where we can work together."
Bush did not shy away from some differences with Europe, but he did seem to strike a less confrontational tone than he has in the past.
"I don't feel bitter, personally," Bush said of Chirac, who was the chief Iraq war opponent in Europe. Bush and Chirac will have a working dinner in Brussels.
Bush questioned the Chirac-advocated idea of the need for a "multipolar world," diplomatic code language for a united Europe balancing out the United States.
"Some have said, 'Well, we must have a unified Europe to balance America.' Why, when in fact we share values and goals? ... Why don't we view this as a moment where we can move forward in a concerted fashion to achieve those goals?"
Bush said in his weekly radio address that America and Europe had much in common as "pillars of the free world."
"We do not accept a false caricature that divides the Western world between an idealistic United States and a cynical Europe," he said. In the media interviews, Bush did, however, take exception to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's recent comment that NATO (news - web sites) was no longer "the primary venue" for trans-Atlantic dialogue. Schroeder called for outside experts to suggest how the alliance could be more relevant in the post-Cold War world.
"I think NATO is vital," Bush said. "And I think it's a vital relationship and one that we'll work to keep strong."
As for Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), Bush said he will ask him to explain decisions that have raised concerns he is backsliding on democracy and centralizing power.
Bush, who will meet with Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia on Thursday, said his "good relationship" with the Russian leader would "give me a chance to say in private -- ask him why he's been making some of the decisions he's been making."
"He's done some things that has concerned people," Bush told Slovak state television.
Bush, in the radio address, also discussed concerns he would raise with European Union (news - web sites) leaders over trade barriers on farm goods.
"I will make clear that one of my top priorities is to reduce the remaining European barriers to U.S. agricultural goods," he said.
International farm subsidies are a central point of contention in the Doha round talks of the World Trade Organization (news - web sites). The talks, named after the Qatari city where they were launched in 2001, are running well behind schedule. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous and Caren Bohan)
He's got more important people to worry about......
Bush may not, but I do...
Me too.
Me three.
Indeed. He's the President and has to say that, but we're under no such obligation. Chiraq has blood on his hands.
Still boycotting france, bumper sticker and all.
As we make our preparations
To defend this righteous nation
So-called friends, the French, are hiding
Well, that's no surprise at all
It's okay, 'cause they'd surrender
They are not the best defenders
History has shown us clearly
They would surely drop the ball
Why are Frenchmen so pathetic
Is it something that's genetic?
If it looks like there is trouble
It's their mommy they will call
A white flag gets raised right away
There will be no delay
Their tail's between their legs
What can we say
As we save civilization
Just where is that useless nation
So-called friends, the French, are hiding
Well, that's no surprise at all
It's okay, 'cause they'd surrender
They are not the best defenders
History has shown us clearly
They would surely drop the ball
Why are Frenchmen so pathetic
Is it something that's genetic?
If it looks like there is trouble
It's their mommy they will call
A white flag gets raised right away
There will be no delay
Their tail's between their legs
What can we say
I know exactly how he feels. I feel no more bitterness for Chirac than I feel for an ant living in a crack in a Paris sidewalk.
However the ant does get my sympathy.
I know, I know, but as you fellow Texans will remember, he wouldn't flame Ann Richards either, very frustrating! He just kept governing, the very idea!
Darn it, I hate it when he keeps behaving bigger than the next guy...
Meanwhile, just a little jab or left hook now and then would sure make me feel better.
Why should he hold bitterness? France is already Francoarabia anyway. No amount of bitterness will change that now. We just have to accept it and get over it.
That's okay Mr. President. I can carry the load on this one.
Chirac, you're a world class a h e.
..adding..I am still not buying any "whine" from any arab country that doesn't call a terrorist a terrorist, even if it is from what used to be france.
Translation: a--ho-e.
Right. He doesn't have to, I'll do it for him.
No bitterness, just pity.
Lerner and Lowe (via Professor Henry Higgins) were right about the French: "The French don't care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly."
How do you say 'backstabbing creeps" in Francais?
French & perfidy have become synonymous in recent years.
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