Sunday, March 18, 2007
France to Israel: On to Damascus!
In the category of "man bites dog," the Jerusalem Post is reporting that France encouraged Israel to attack Syria during last summer's Hezbollah war.
French President Jacques Chirac told Israel at the start of the war in Lebanon that France would support an Israeli assault on Syria, it was reported on Sunday.
Army Radio reported that in the message, which was delivered by Chirac to Israel via a secret channel, the French president suggested that Israel invade Damascus and topple the regime of Bashar Assad. In exchange, Chirac assured Israel full French support for the war.
According to the message delivered from Paris, Syria was responsible for the flare up in the North and encouraged Hizbullah to attack.
I admit, I love sneaky stuff like this.
Regular readers know that I am not nearly as Francophobic as, well, my co-bloggers. While I, too, can get intensely annoyed at the French in matters of foreign policy, France's aspirations to influence and undiluted commitment to self-interest can work to the advantage of the good guys in the beating up of the bad guys. Suffice it to say that Chirac apparently made a phone call to Israel that George W. Bush could not afford to make. Did Chirac do it at Bush's explicit request or implicit suggestion, or entirely on his own initiative?
Discuss in the comments.
20 Comments:
By 
Purple Avenger, at
Sun Mar 18, 02:45:00 PM:
Chirac assured Israel full French support for the war.
Yea, but I don't think truck loads of white sheets would impress the Syrians ;->
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Mar 18, 03:45:00 PM:
The French rarely worry about hypocrisy.
I can tell you one thing: The French are popular in vast areas of the so-called Third World. Occasionally I have closed business deals in underdeveloped countries for no reason other than my French surname.
My French surname is a help in some of the most dangerous spots in Asia and Africa. My American passport seldom contributes anything to my safety in those places.
By 
, at
Sun Mar 18, 04:41:00 PM:
French support? That's a rubber crutch. That "support" would vanish like truffles in napalm when the French Muzzies went totally berserk.
I really cannot say if Bush instigated it or not. He is certainly hamstrung in carrying out an effective foreign policy.
Mark
By Dawnfire82, at
Sun Mar 18, 04:55:00 PM:
"Rarely worry about hypocrisy" = "Popular in vast areas of the so-called Third World."
I wonder if there's a lesson here.
By Purple Avenger, at
Sun Mar 18, 05:50:00 PM:
The French weren't too popular in Haiti. They were slaughtered by the thousands in the Haitian revolution.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Mar 18, 05:56:00 PM:
Re: Hypocrisy
Many people in underdeveloped countries accept hypocrisy as a necessary part of life. They use it to survive and succeed under dictators.
Re: Haiti
C'mon, Purple Avenger. That was more than 200 years ago. Americans were shooting the British around that time.
By Country Squire, at
Sun Mar 18, 08:06:00 PM:
The Israelis were wise to choose their allies carefully. The following is a quote from Mark Steyn in The Australian February 23, 2007:
"According to my dictionary, the word "ally" comes from the Old French. Very Old French, I'd say. For the New French, the word has a largely postmodern definition of "duplicitous charmer who undermines you at every opportunity"."
By , at
Sun Mar 18, 08:57:00 PM:
This was done only for FRENCH interests. Chirac wanted Israelis to die for French interests and Olmert wisely declined.
France had the leading role as protector of Lebanon's Christians since Napoleon, and certainly during their mandate. They have ambitions to replace the Syrians for control of Lebanon but wanted the Israelis to do it for them.
I am surprised anyone did not see this immediately. It is quite obvious.
By Purple Avenger, at
Sun Mar 18, 09:03:00 PM:
C'mon, Purple Avenger. That was more than 200 years ago.
The sentiment is still there today. Haitians don't wish for the French to come back. They do wish the American's would come back.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Mar 18, 09:11:00 PM:
This comment has been removed by the author.
By , at
Sun Mar 18, 09:32:00 PM:
Remember that Chirac lied to Bush and Powell about supporting the war in Iraq. Chirac was on personally friendly terms with Hafez Assad as well as with Hussein. Therefore, I think that Olmert realized that if Chirac told him that the sky was blue, then he would still have to check for himself.
chsw
By Christopher Chambers, at
Sun Mar 18, 10:51:00 PM:
Who cares? My worries are less about the Frogs, Hezbollah and the equivalent of Serbia in 1914 (ie Israel), than our lying, political hack, "forgetful" Tio Tomas Attorney General. In 1997 I was with DOJ and watched a gaggle of scumbags from Fox News to the radio to Hill yelp for Janet Reno's less than feminine head for far far FAR less. Even trivial crap. How you guys defend this, I do not know, but the spin machine will find a way. Meanwhile everyone will debate Chirac, Syria and the Israelis...or the fate of the Anna Nicole's baby...as the distraction.
PS--didn't that mutant fat headchoper in "300" look a lot like Karl Rove? ;-)
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Mon Mar 19, 02:09:00 AM:
This comment has been removed by the author.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Mon Mar 19, 02:16:00 AM:
Purple Avenger: "Haitians don't wish for the French to come back. They do wish the American's would come back."
Many Algerians aren't crazy about the French either.
I said the French "are popular in vast areas of the so-called Third World." I didn't say all areas of the Third World.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Mon Mar 19, 03:28:00 AM:
This comment has been removed by the author.
By Georg Felis, at
Mon Mar 19, 09:37:00 AM:
I think I would take this report with a grain of salt. Can you imagine a believable scenario where the French president would go to Israel and say “Go ahead and invade Syria, and we’ll support you. Really. Honest. This time for sure!”
I suspect the message is a fake, and even if not a fake, there is no way anybody in Israel would be stupid enough to believe it.
By , at
Mon Mar 19, 09:59:00 AM:
I think the French generally move about in their own self-interest, as do most countries. The problem is deciphering (from afar) just what is the French interest, as they are past masters at saying one thing in public and say something different in private, yet holding perhaps a third opinion (their true position?) to themselves (and not everyone gets the memo, either).
Ah, nuance.
If they (the French) really want Israel to attack Syria (?), then how does it profit or benefit French interests? Influence in Lebanon? Thwarting Hezballah (i.e., Iran)? Warming up to the Sunnis, in general? It's not going to happen on Chirac's say-so, so what is their game?
The Israelis are pretty shrewd, and probably aren't confused, but frankly, it's a tempest in a teapot.
US interests are much broader, are telegraphed much more obviously, and are harder obfuscate (although many are trying very hard).
-David
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Tue Mar 20, 12:33:00 AM:
Chris, are you unable to stay on topic because you want to hijack threads, because your anger at other issues just spills out on every subject, or because you smoked too much weed as a youth? You seem to be under the misapprehension that you're scoring points.
By Dawnfire82, at
Tue Mar 20, 03:35:00 PM:
Those kinds of inane comments pass for wit and insightfulness in some parts of the Internet...
By Georg Felis, at
Wed Mar 21, 09:43:00 AM:
Yes, AVE. Please don't feed the trolls.
