You have commented 375 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Britain
Ministers declare open season on French
2003-03-13
The British government declared open season on France yesterday in retaliation for its threat to veto the proposed UN resolution on Iraq.
Sssh-h-h! Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting weasels!
Tony Blair, after weeks of restraint, openly criticised France in the Commons, as did other ministers. Officials have been told they have been freed by "the highest authority" to lay into the French. Relations have not been so bad since the Battle of Hastings De Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry to the common market in 1066 1963.

In Moscow, the US ambassador threatened the withdrawal of US support to Russia in just about everything several important areas. Russia has threatened to abstain or join France in using its security council veto.

At prime minister's question time, Mr Blair, whose aides have repeatedly ducked invitations to condemn French conduct, allowed himself a show of extreme irritation with the French president, Jacques Chirac, when he said he was working "flat out" to achieve a UN solution "on the basis of a compromise". That goal was "complicated when one nation is saying that, whatever the circumstances, it will veto a second resolution" — a clear dig at Mr Chirac's TV appearance on Monday night. The British government view is that France signed up to the previous Iraq resolution, 1441, last year, but every French action since has undercut attempts to save its own skin put pressure on Iraq.
And to attack their mortal enemy — us.
Last night, Mr Blair was dining privately with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, but Whitehall sees Germany's political plight and its virtual pacificism since 1945 in a very different light.
"We'd prefer the Germans remain pacifists, thank you very much."
There was no official French reaction to Mr Blair's comments, but the size of his manhood difficulties did not escape the attention of the French press. "Bush's war destabilises Tony Blair" was Le Monde's front page headline, above a cartoon of a heavily armed GI telling a naked and vulnerable-looking Mr Blair: "You're a nice guy, Tony, but maybe I'll do the job without you." In Paris's view the real threat to the UN is not its veto but Washington and London's insistence on a necessary dangerous war they have failed to convince the world and the security council is necessary or justified.
Of course, if your fingers are in your ears ...
A French foreign ministry spokesman said its position was "perfectly clear and consistent, and has been since the very start of all this.
"Our hands are in the air. Of course that's our position, and we're sticking to it."
"First, the bumblers inspectors have failed miserably are progressing and must be allowed to do their job. Second, it must be they, and no one else reasonable, who decides when they have finished or been prevented from doing so.
Lots of people get reviewed by others to see what kind of job they're doing. Happens all the time. Why not the inspectors, Dominique?
"That means, third, we cannot accept an ultimatum that would cut short their work and give the green light to war." The US ambassador to Paris, Howard Leach, has given no newspaper interviews and has made only one brief television appearance, in English, in which he contented himself with saying that Washington would consider a French veto a "very unfriendly gesture".
"We're not saying that we'll nuke 'em tomorrow, but it'll be right unfriendly."
Analysts say it is difficult to see what direct economic sanctions the US could impose on France: consumer boycotts of wine, cheese and the like would have a limited but useful effect, and official trade sanctions are unlikely because they would have to embrace the EU and thus risk hurting such "loyal" partners as Britain and Spain. US corporate investment in France might tail off, as might American tourist dollars, and defence and aerospace companies dealing directly with the Bush administration would clearly suffer. But Washington cannot wave the carrot of development aid, debt write-offs or investment in infrastructure and industry, as it can in Russia.

The US ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Vershbow, urged Russia to "heavily weigh all the consequences" of using its veto. He said it could be cut out of rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and oilfields. US investment in energy and joint work on security, terrorism, the international space station, and building an anti-ballistic missile system would be at risk, and he pointed out that Russia's relationship with Nato was only just ending beginning.
Posted by:Steve White

#8  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: tcc   2003-03-13 18:05:42  

#7  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: RW   2003-03-13 13:08:29  

#6  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Frank G   2003-03-13 12:49:01  

#5  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Tom   2003-03-13 11:18:08  

#4  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Ptah   2003-03-13 10:36:36  

#3  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: tu3031   2003-03-13 10:17:55  

#2  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Chuck   2003-03-13 09:31:23  

#1  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-03-13 00:50:42  

00:00