By: Laura Ingraham
(San Francisco, CA) Even out here in peacenik-land, one senses that
patience is wearing thin for the French. After watching the French
Foreign Minister Dominque De Villepin on ABC's This Week, one Democrat
friend asked: "Was he trying to win us over or insult us?" My brother,
who speaks fluent French, and is a self-avowed Francophile, has cancelled
his trip there this summer. Suddenly Evian costs the same as Poland
Springs in the grocery stores.
As US authorities continue to pick off top al Qaeda operatives, it's time
we really start to focus on another threat to our national security-the
French. Maybe that's a slight overstatement--but not by much. Day by day
we are learning more about how little we have in common with the country
whose people were liberated by our soldiers almost 60 years ago. De
Villepin, in the much-heralded interview with George Stephanopolous,
unwittingly exposed this growing divide, and his country's feckless,
hypocritical stance against a brutal, dangerous Iraqi regime.
After this Q & A (which was more like Q & Q since he failed to answer any
of the important questions about Iraq), there should be no dispute about
the following:
* France prefers an Iraq with Saddam in power.
* France thinks 1441's "serious consequences" means permanent
inspections.
* France thinks 1441's "immediate compliance" mandate means Iraq should
cooperate when it feels like it.
* France doesn't regret its past role in helping Iraq build a nuclear
reactor.
* France thinks Americans are stupid.
Stephanopolous later said he believed De Villepin was attempting to "go
over the heads of the US government and speak directly to the American
people." Did De Villepin really believe our citizens would suddenly find
the French position credible when he claimed that Iraq was now cooperating
"on process and substance"? (Something even Hans Blix does not claim.)
George might as well have been interviewing Tariq Aziz. "You cannot say
that a country should disarm and when a country agrees to disarm.that it's
nothing," De Villepin said of Saddam's last minute decision to destroy his
Al Samoud missiles. "He is, we are in the process of being able to
disarm," he insisted. So from the warped French perspective, UN weapons
inspectors are not only detectives, they are enablers.
Confirming the worst American stereotypes of France's appeasement
mentality, De Villepin warned of "a burst of terrorism" if force is used
"prematurely." This illogical thinking would prevent us from ever acting
preemptively, and keep our country locked into a never-ending defensive
crouch. It may be the French way, but it's not the American way.
As exasperating as De Villepin's answers were, so was Stephanopolous'
failure to press him on his country's Iraqi oil interests. No matter how
many times De Villepin invoked the "world community," we know that France
is only concerned with one thing in this debate-France. Its economic
interests, its standing in Europe, its ability to stand up to the world's
cowboy superpower-this is what motivates France's refusal to force Iraq's
disarmament.
What the French may never fully comprehend is that none of that will
ultimately matter in a world where weapons proliferation goes unchecked,
where dictators are able to manipulate democratic leaders like
marionettes. Memo to Jacques: If you want to be considered as a 21st
century authority on the perils of war, why not starting spending some
money on your own military? But that's right, De Villepin reiterated that
"France is not a pacifist country."
French eateries in San Francisco conspicuously fly large American flags as
if to assure prospective customers that "we're still with you." Yes we
remember that after September 11th, France said "We are all Americans."
That was a warm and welcome gesture. But today we need more than
gestures, we need action and real commitment.
Word of the Week
Penitent adj. Feeling or expressing remorse for one's misdeeds or sins. As
in--
De Villepin wasn't the slightest bit penitent about France's role in
helping Iraq build a nuclear reactor before the last Gulf War.
(San Francisco, CA) Even out here in peacenik-land, one senses that
patience is wearing thin for the French. After watching the French
Foreign Minister Dominque De Villepin on ABC's This Week, one Democrat
friend asked: "Was he trying to win us over or insult us?" My brother,
who speaks fluent French, and is a self-avowed Francophile, has cancelled
his trip there this summer. Suddenly Evian costs the same as Poland
Springs in the grocery stores.
As US authorities continue to pick off top al Qaeda operatives, it's time
we really start to focus on another threat to our national security-the
French. Maybe that's a slight overstatement--but not by much. Day by day
we are learning more about how little we have in common with the country
whose people were liberated by our soldiers almost 60 years ago. De
Villepin, in the much-heralded interview with George Stephanopolous,
unwittingly exposed this growing divide, and his country's feckless,
hypocritical stance against a brutal, dangerous Iraqi regime.
After this Q & A (which was more like Q & Q since he failed to answer any
of the important questions about Iraq), there should be no dispute about
the following:
* France prefers an Iraq with Saddam in power.
* France thinks 1441's "serious consequences" means permanent
inspections.
* France thinks 1441's "immediate compliance" mandate means Iraq should
cooperate when it feels like it.
* France doesn't regret its past role in helping Iraq build a nuclear
reactor.
* France thinks Americans are stupid.
Stephanopolous later said he believed De Villepin was attempting to "go
over the heads of the US government and speak directly to the American
people." Did De Villepin really believe our citizens would suddenly find
the French position credible when he claimed that Iraq was now cooperating
"on process and substance"? (Something even Hans Blix does not claim.)
George might as well have been interviewing Tariq Aziz. "You cannot say
that a country should disarm and when a country agrees to disarm.that it's
nothing," De Villepin said of Saddam's last minute decision to destroy his
Al Samoud missiles. "He is, we are in the process of being able to
disarm," he insisted. So from the warped French perspective, UN weapons
inspectors are not only detectives, they are enablers.
Confirming the worst American stereotypes of France's appeasement
mentality, De Villepin warned of "a burst of terrorism" if force is used
"prematurely." This illogical thinking would prevent us from ever acting
preemptively, and keep our country locked into a never-ending defensive
crouch. It may be the French way, but it's not the American way.
As exasperating as De Villepin's answers were, so was Stephanopolous'
failure to press him on his country's Iraqi oil interests. No matter how
many times De Villepin invoked the "world community," we know that France
is only concerned with one thing in this debate-France. Its economic
interests, its standing in Europe, its ability to stand up to the world's
cowboy superpower-this is what motivates France's refusal to force Iraq's
disarmament.
What the French may never fully comprehend is that none of that will
ultimately matter in a world where weapons proliferation goes unchecked,
where dictators are able to manipulate democratic leaders like
marionettes. Memo to Jacques: If you want to be considered as a 21st
century authority on the perils of war, why not starting spending some
money on your own military? But that's right, De Villepin reiterated that
"France is not a pacifist country."
French eateries in San Francisco conspicuously fly large American flags as
if to assure prospective customers that "we're still with you." Yes we
remember that after September 11th, France said "We are all Americans."
That was a warm and welcome gesture. But today we need more than
gestures, we need action and real commitment.
Word of the Week
Penitent adj. Feeling or expressing remorse for one's misdeeds or sins. As
in--
De Villepin wasn't the slightest bit penitent about France's role in
helping Iraq build a nuclear reactor before the last Gulf War.
