Thursday, November 11, 2004

Hypocracy of the French...

Read this article to see yet another example of France's global diplomacy views:
"Last Saturday, France's president Jacque Chirac ordered French fighter jets to destroy the entire Ivorian Air Force, including the official plane of the Ivorian president. The attack came in retaliation for a government air strike on the rebel-held north, which killed nine French peacekeepers and an American aid worker."
A unilateral decision mind you. But they, of course, are justified:
"French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said, 'We deplore the deaths of the French soldiers and the American.' "
The 'other side', has another view. Where's the call for sanctions? Where's the call for UN resolutions to 'solve' this disagreement?
"But Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo said the bombing was a mistake. In an exclusive interview by phone with CBN News from his presidential palace, Gbagbo accused Paris of trying to destabilize his nation. He said, 'The French are trying to derail democracy in my country. What the French have done is unbelievable.' "
I'm no expert regarding the political environemt in the Ivory Coast. For all I know, Gbagdo could be a Saddam Hussein-lite. Regardless, it's ironic that his argument is based on France's own international diplomacy concerns they raised about the US!
"Gbagbo also finds it unbelievable that the French did not even ask the UN Security Council for permission to intervene."

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