There’s some sort of conference going on in Egypt right now. It’s supposed to be all about Iraq and nothing but. Predictably, though, the subject of Israel and the Palestinians was the only thing anyone wanted to talk about.
That’s what you get when you invite Arab dignitaries to any sort of “international conference.” They’ll start spouting off about Israel so no one will ask them about their own governments’ failings. We’ve seen it happen at the United Nations so many times that I doubt any of the delegates have written a new speech in 20 years.
France sent along envoys to the do, whuppty-freakin’-ding-dong. It’s not like they’ve been really supportive of our efforts in Iraq, or that they’ve even refrained from trying anything they could think of to stop us. The only thing that the presence of French delegates at the conference tells me is that the buffets in the executive dining hall must have been pretty well stocked.
Now France says that they want to help end violence in Iraq. A reasonable person would think that they’d send troops, help pay for efforts to hunt down terrorists, start pressuring Syria and Iran in order to slow down the flow of support for terrorism. I mean, what else would make a difference?
But France isn’t talking about doing any of that. Instead they want the Iraqi interim government to hold a big rally with the various political groups forming in Iraq. It would help voter turnout, they said. (They just say “meetings,” but I figure that you should do it right and have a big ol’ political rally with vendors selling T-shirts and overpriced convention food and rousing speeches and everything.)
Thank a lot, France! Democracy is saved due to your quick thinking and keen insight into the problem of forming new liberal democracies! After all, they have all that experience in forming democracies. They’re on their, what, 5th or 6th democratic government since the late 18th Century while we’re struggling along with the original?
Next time they should just have McDonald’s cater these affairs. I bet it would increase the signal-to-noise ratio something fierce.
Great. Hold a big rally and create a huge target. Do you think the “insurgents” would pass that up?
Me neither.
Dave
Maybe W should invite Chirac, the Arab foreign ministers and the UN Security Council to a secret meeting on a remote island, and then not show up.
Who said only the French were arrogant and full of themsleves. Nice, you are catching up fast.
What you’re reding here at this site, Mr. Golger, is confidence instead of arrogance. The difference is that it’s arrogance to demand that the world listen to shrill demands without being able to affect events, and confidence is when you go out and make history.
James
I don’t understand the Wikipedia assertion (you cite) of France’s claim to have the “oldest European president.” Doesn’t that imply continuity of more than name? They observe: “Four of France’s five republics have had presidents as their heads of state, making the French presidency the oldest presidency in Europe.
In each of the republics’ constitutions the president’s powers, functions and duties, and their relationships with French governments differed.”
I’m always muttering about the French mistaking style for substance (not unrelated to the many miserable years I spent barely passing French courses) but doesn’t this seem, well, stretching the claim a bit? (Not that I know much about those different constitutions, so am willing to accept a more knowledgeable interpretation.)
Also, doesn’t “big rally” seem uncomfortably close to “mob rule”? Such get togethers have not, traditionally, been ways of appealing to the head – as I would suspect the French know quite well. Or should know. (They may think that the guillotine was given heavy use because the French took the enlightenment and its emphasis upon the rational to heart.)
Sometimes their intentions concerning the Iraqis do not seem rational – or, at least, in the Iraqis’ best interests.
I don’t understand the Wikipedia assertion (you cite) of France’s claim to have the “oldest European president.”
I’m with you on that one, Ginny.
James
They had their Revolution and all they got was the Reign of Terror.
‘Nuff said.
Blatantly stolen from some poster somewhere.
Perhaps the French might consider franchising guillotine concessions to islamic arab countries, no? Imagine the convenience for both arab governments as well as insurgent groups. Those damned clever frenchies!
“What you’re reding here at this site, Mr. Golger, is confidence instead of arrogance”
Are you serious? I don’t think you realized how far you went. You spend a lot of time spiting on the French for the same reason.
Peter, what do you expect? More than one thousand Americans (not including the 9/11 victims) have given their lives, and US taxpayers are spending hundreds of billions of dollars, to fight Islamic fundamentalism. What has France done besides carp from the sidelines and take bribes?
Are you serious? I don’t think you realized how far you went.”
I’m very serious, and I realize exactly what I’m doing. Idiocy deserves to be mocked.
James
The French agenda at the conference was to try to get a formal agreement for a specific date when the US promised to fully withdraw from Iraq.
What did France do besides carp and accept bribes? Aren’t they the ones who were passing on NATO briefings to Saddam? And they blocked the extra air defense to protect fellow NATO member Turkey.
I’d say that’s a pretty impressive tally for La France. Not favorably impressive, just impressive.
Matya no baka