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| Is France Changing Policy? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 22 2005, 01:36 PM (263 Views) | |
| Jeffrey | Jul 22 2005, 01:36 PM Post #1 |
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Senior Carp
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I am not sure why Chirac is changing. Maybe he is tired of backing people who whine a lot and don't solve problems. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/603564.html Chirac: Iran's nuclear plan may lead to sanctions By Adar Primor French President Jacques Chirac has told Haaretz that if European negotiations with Iran fail to eliminate the threat of nuclear proliferation, then the issue will have to be moved to the UN Security Council. Chirac's statements regarding the possibility of imposing sanctions on Iran, which, according to observers, is the first time he has taken such a firm position in the matter, came in an interview with Haaretz on the eve of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's state visit to France Wednesday. "I hope that [the European negotiations with Iran] will succeed and eliminate the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons," Chirac said. "If this does not prove to be the case, it will, of course, be necessary to transfer the handling [of the Iranian problem] to the UN Security Council." Advertisement The French president, meanwhile, spoke highly of Sharon and Israel, in preparation of the premier's upcoming visit to Paris. "I wish to convey my profound admiration and friendship I feel toward the State of Israel and the Israeli people - a great people of tradition and culture, which is looking to the future," Chirac said. "In welcoming Prime Minister Sharon to Paris, France is sending its friend, Israel, a message of trust: A profound belief that peace is possible, a desire to contribute to the peace, an aspiration to be Israel's top-ranked partner politically, economically, and culturally, in keeping with the depth of the ties uniting our peoples and in accordance with the lofty mission assigned to both peoples because of their common heritage." Officials in Jerusalem were highly gratified by Chirac's warm and unusual statements. A Prime Minister's Bureau source said that "Sharon intends to respond to Chirac in kind," and that the visit - Sharon's first state visit to Paris since 2001 - is expected to be "a visit of agreement" that will reflect the substantial warming of bilateral relations over the past two years. In the same vein, Chirac said that "mothing can justify terror... We understand well [Israel's contention with Palestinian terrorism], and we have always condemned the acts of terror of which Israelis are the victims." Asked specifically about Israel's "targeted assassinations" in the territories, Chirac opted to avoid addressing the question and not to repeat previous condemnations. Chirac also took a categorical and surprising stance against Hamas in the interview. "Hamas is a terrorist organization that cannot be an interlocutor of the international community, as long as it does not renounce violence and does not recognize Israel's right to exist. This is the unambiguous position of the EU and it will not change." However, like British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chirac believes that when it comes to terrorism, "We must deal with all the factors that nourish the hatred and the frustrations: the unresolved conflicts, the religious intolerance, the rejection of the other, and the economic instability." Asked whether the time had not come to add Hezbollah to the European list of terrorist organizations, Chirac referred to UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and the demand for militias to disarm: "The Lebanese must create the framework and the process that will lead to this disarmament." |
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| Dewey | Jul 22 2005, 01:37 PM Post #2 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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"I am not sure why Chirac is changing. Maybe he is tired of backing people who whine a lot and don't solve problems." Why, because they remind him too much of himself?
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Amanda | Jul 22 2005, 01:49 PM Post #3 |
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Senior Carp
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Jeffrey, are you in London now, after all? Thought that insomnia might have put you off your trip. Let us know what the mood is there is so, and how it's changed if at all. |
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[size=5] We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.[/size] "Daily Telegraph", London July 27 2005 | |
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| phykell | Jul 22 2005, 01:59 PM Post #4 |
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Senior Carp
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One person will not be able to gauge the "mood" of a city the size of London. Just watch the news instead - I recommend the BBC
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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated. - Ghandhi Evil cannot be conquered in the world. It can only be resisted within oneself. Remember, bones heal and chicks dig scars | |
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| Jeffrey | Jul 22 2005, 02:22 PM Post #5 |
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Senior Carp
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Amanda - I am actually going in just under 2 weeks. I was already planning to go before the "situation" - I just decided not to change plans based on the current news, and had to get tickets and reservations etc. I went already for a week earlier this year, and didn't get to see even a third of what I wanted. Perhaps I can even meet some Phykell-type Brits in a right proper pub and set them thinking correctly the way we do here in the US over a pint of London Pride!!! Anything to help our friends across the pond!! |
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| phykell | Jul 22 2005, 03:11 PM Post #6 |
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Senior Carp
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No phykell-type Brits down there. They're all shandy-swilling southern Jessies!
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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated. - Ghandhi Evil cannot be conquered in the world. It can only be resisted within oneself. Remember, bones heal and chicks dig scars | |
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| Rick Zimmer | Jul 22 2005, 04:47 PM Post #7 |
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Fulla-Carp
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This is not new. The Europeans who are heading the negotiations have said all along that if the negotiations fail to reach an agreement the matter would be turned over to the Security Council. |
| [size=4]Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul -- Benedict XVI[/size] | |
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| Jeffrey | Jul 22 2005, 08:52 PM Post #8 |
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Senior Carp
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Rick - What's new is Chirac's warming up to Sharon, and criticism of Hamas. Usually, France supports the terrorists, and had close relations with Arafat. Maybe he is just speaking words and won't do anything, but it seems genuine. We will see. I don't understand the reason for France's shift. Why does France want to distance itself from the Arab terror groups now, when it did not before? |
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| Amanda | Jul 23 2005, 03:07 AM Post #9 |
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Senior Carp
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phykelll:
I know, I know. As soon as I posted I felt like an idiot, not so much for the "one person" bit as for asking Jeffrey rather than one of you Brits. So, um, phykell, old chap, now that you've got a few weeks under your belt, how do you and your countrymen (all of them, by region and other demographics) feel about the attack? Still bucking up or going a bit postal? Lucy, you too? ? What say you?(Others?) [edit - added] ANd DO you notice any change in atttiudes, thoughts about the Mid-East - key players and what they ought to do - plans to travel, talk show topics, etc.? Note, BBC hasn't done much on this, to my knowledge. Of course, that's not saying there hasn't been a show I've missed. Seems to me they'd be unlikely to though, on a broacast intended for an overseas audience. |
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[size=5] We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.[/size] "Daily Telegraph", London July 27 2005 | |
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| Amanda | Jul 23 2005, 05:19 AM Post #10 |
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Senior Carp
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Cited from article, by Chirac:
Jeffrey, this sounds really promising! And a remarkable departure. I don't know WHY he's speaking like this. Unless (to be Machievellian), it's part of a secret dialogue with Palestinian/Arab leaders. Perhaps Chirac had negotiators working on France's exemption from terrorist targeting and they refused any guarantees. Then perhaps it's strategic - to give the appearance of shifting allegiances. Maybe that's supposed to woo them back to the French, and persuade them to grant the guarantees demanded in exchange for further French support. The French ARE the diplomatic whores of Europe, I 'm sorry to say. (Go away, benedict! C'est vrai, quand meme.) Note, as an aside, however - I don't think anyone on the Arab side CAN offer guarantees, now that Al-Qaeda has become fragmented into all these disparate "sleeper cells" of fired up radical-jihadists. "Genie out of the bottle" indeed, to borrow jon's words... Or more like many genies and many bottles... Jeff, why not post this in WTF too? |
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[size=5] We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.[/size] "Daily Telegraph", London July 27 2005 | |
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| phykell | Jul 23 2005, 09:37 AM Post #11 |
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Senior Carp
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I can only speak for myself, but the terrorism makes no difference to me. It won't change my habits, my beliefs, anything. All terrorists who target innocent civilians are disgusting cowards in my opinion, and I don't care what anyone chooses to call them, freedom fighters, militia, militants, extremists, whatever. They are cold blooded murderers. I was around the corner from a terrorist bomb in Warrington some years ago so I was very nearly a victim myself and the UK has suffered cowardly terrorist bombings from the well-funded IRA for decades. I suspect that like me the majority of UK citizens feel the same way I do. It could be the UK, the US, Israel, Spain, it doesn't matter, terrorists are all the same - cowardly murderers who deserve nothing but our contempt, and I feel confident in saying that that's all they will ever get from us Brits.
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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated. - Ghandhi Evil cannot be conquered in the world. It can only be resisted within oneself. Remember, bones heal and chicks dig scars | |
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4:13 PM Jul 10