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Title: Whose Iraq is it anyway - and what role for France?
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Published: Aug 22, 2007
Author: Edward M. Gomez,
Post Date: 2007-08-22 16:02:00 by tom007
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Views: 57
Comments: 1
Whose Iraq is it anyway - and what role for France? What does a puppet master do when his puppet has a mind of his own? About The Author Edward M. Gomez (photo)Edward M. Gomez, a former U.S. diplomat and staff reporter at TIME, has lived and worked in the U.S. and overseas, and speaks several languages. He has written for The New York Times, the Japan Times and the International Herald Tribune. George W. Bush is mumbling words of displeasure because Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, the head of a democratically elected government, is not, he claims, doing enough to resolve the civil strife and chaos in his war-ravaged country that have been the hallmarks of the period of the U.S.-led military occupation. Yesterday, Bush said: "Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more....I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to work - come together to get, for example, an oil-revenue law passed or provincial elections." "Finding friends elsewhere": Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (left) met Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad yesterday in Damascus Noted the Associated Press: "Bush's statement on Tuesday was a marked change in tone from his endorsement of al-Maliki in November 2006 at a meeting in Jordan as 'the right guy for Iraq.'" Meanwhile, in the U.S., some American elected officials and presidential candidates have been making critical noises about al-Maliki and his government. Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, suggested that the Iraqi prime minister, who is a Shiite Muslim, should be replaced with a less sectarian politician. Al-Maliki, on his first-ever visit to Syria as PM, commented: "No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people....Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere." Without citing any American politician by name, he said the criticism that has been coming at him from the U.S. has been "discourteous." Recently, Iraqi-government workers cleaned a road near the destroyed Al-Kholani mosque in Baghdad, a Shiite-Muslim religious site Reuters Recently, Iraqi-government workers cleaned a road near the destroyed Al-Kholani mosque in Baghdad, a Shiite-Muslim religious site After a 26-year-long lull, Iraq and Syria reestablished diplomatic relations late last year. During talks with al-Maliki in Damascus yesterday, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottri remarked: "Syria [has] spared no efforts to offer aid to the Iraqis, and [has done] her best to support and realize Iraqi national reconciliation, security and stability....Syria [has] endured pressures, social and economic burdens, as a result of the existence of nearly 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria." The Syrian leader added that he believed that "the presence of occupation forces in Iraq [has] attracted extremis[t] powers and led to escalating, blind violence, which claims the lives of scores of innocent people every day...." (Al Bawaba) In addition to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, of whom Bush is certainly no big fan, which other "friends" might al-Maliki be able to rustle up? In the puppet theater, entering from stage left: France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who was rubbing elbows with Iraqi-government officials in Baghdad this week. In an interview with a French radio station, Kouchner "called on Europe...to play a bigger role in Iraq because 'the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone.'...He did not say what that role should be." He urged foreign ministers from other European countries to visit Iraq, too. (Reuters) Iraqi President Jelal Talabani (left) and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Baghdad this week Reuters Iraqi President Jelal Talabani (left) and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Baghdad this week France's former president, Jacques Chirac, did not permit French troops to take part in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 or in the subsequent, American-led military occupation. However, "Chirac's successor, Nicolas Sarkozy, has since sought to improve ties with...Bush, and...Kouchner's visit is seen as a symbolic sign of the new French policy on Iraq." (Reuters) Further commenting on the Iraq situation, Kouchner observed: "Seen from afar, this violence is horrible. Innocent people are dying every day...It's unacceptable....France is ready to take part in this struggle against the violence, but I don't have any miracle solution. Our will is to be on the side of this great country that is indispensable to the equilibrium of and the birth of democracy in this region [that is] so important." Kouchner pointed out that France favors working with and through the United Nations to try to resolve Iraq's crisis-proportions problems. (Any mention of the U.N. is, of course, anathema to the Bush gang.) Neverthless, in his remarks this week, France's top diplomat noted that, although Chirac and Bush had resolutely disagreed on war-making back in 2003, now, with Sarkozy in power, "[W]e've turned the page." (7 sur 7) But what exactly can or will France do to help resolve Iraq's crisis? What, if anything, did Kouchner's Iraq junket this week achieve? Commentator Daniel Vernet, writing in Le Monde, notes: "The simplest answer is perhaps that Kouchner went to Baghdad in order to go to Baghdad. Moreover, if, since his appointment [as foreign minister], he has been searching for an 'idea' about Iraq, [the fact is that] the options are very limited." Early last month, a woman reacted to the sight of the effects of a bomb blast in Baghdad Reuters Early last month, a woman reacted to the sight of the effects of a bomb blast in Baghdad The more conservative French daily, Le Figaro, offers an editorial penned by journalist Pierre Rousselin, who argues that France must get involved again in Iraq. "With 1600 civilians killed in July, a massive exodus [of Iraqis feeling the violence] and a political and social falling-apart, the country is living through a humanitarian catastrophe that no one can ignore," he writes. France has a special obligation to try to help, he argues, "given that it had accurately foreseen...the consequences that a military intervention would have unleashed." Rousselin expresses support for Kouchner (a former Socialist Party member who was ousted from the party when he joined conservative Sarkozy's cabinet last May.) The commentator observes: "To pretend, as do certain leaders of the opposition, that Bernard Kouchner's visit [to Iraq] was unwisely undertaken or that it represents an alignment with the policy of George W. Bush is an absurdity that represents a curious conception of French diplomacy....In Iraq, the chaos is such that short-term ambitions are, inevitably, more modest. The important thing is to...get ready for the day when the inevitable American disengagement [from Iraq] will open up the diplomatic game." Posted By: Edward M. Gomez (Email) | August 22 2007 at 08:32 AM Listed Under: Alliances, Democracy, Diplomacy, Elections, Iraq, Syria, Terrorism, United Nations, United States, Violence, Wars | Comments (1) : Post Comment Comments There may be consternation in Washington with Maliki, but there doesn't seem to be anything but smiles in Tehran. Surely, Edward, you must have seen the photo of Ahmadinejad and Maliki , walking hand in hand, through Tehran last week. The paradox of this legally elected Iraqi government, as viewed from the perspective of Washington, is that it draws its strategic depth from Iran. US frustration is understandable, but the situation shouldn't have ever come as a surprise. As for the French, their hands are back in the old colony of Lebanon (Syria). I doubt they'll get anything more than their feet wet in the nightmare that's now Iraq. As for US disengagement in Iraq, I'll have to see it to believe it. Edward, I'm curious. Why have you included this posted in your listing of Terrorism? Posted By: blackzappy | August 22 2007 at 10:24 AM Post a Comment
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#1. To: tom007 (#0)
Demonstrating that he was a hell of a lot better leader than bush.
France's former president, Jacques Chirac, did not permit French troops to take part in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 or in the subsequent, American-led military occupation.
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