And it's one, two, three strikes he's out...
French PM: U.S. Made Triple Mistake Starting Iraq War
Thu Apr 3, 6:34 PM ET
By Jon Boyle
PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said on Thursday the United States had made a moral, political and strategic mistake by launching war in Iraq (news - web sites), risking further damage to already strained ties with Washington.
Raffarin told France 3 television that Paris wanted U.S. and British forces to prevail but offered blunt criticism of the U.S. policies that led to the conflict.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House.
"The Americans made a triple mistake: first of all a moral mistake, and I think we have to say this: there was an alternative to war. We could have disarmed Iraq differently."
That was clear by Washington's failure to secure a U.N. resolution authorizing military action should Iraq fail to destroy its alleged weapons of mass destruction, he said.
"Also, (they made) a political mistake, because we know very well the difficulties of this region of the world," he added. "We see how serious the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, and at any moment it can set the world ablaze. It's a serious political error to start trouble in this region.
"And then, there is a strategic mistake: that today one country can lead the world," he said, arguing that Europe should be one of the major poles of influence in the world.
Raffarin's blunt assessment of U.S. policy appeared at odds with efforts earlier in the week to play down differences with the United States. The French authorities had expressed concern over the anti-U.S. tone of protests against the Iraq war.
On Monday Raffarin urged the nation to remember the United States was a long-standing ally and that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was a dictator.
"Just because we're against this war doesn't mean we want dictatorship to defeat democracy," he said then. "We are in the democratic camp. The Americans are not enemies."
In Thursday's interview the French prime minister, who traditionally leaves major foreign policy issues to President Jacques Chirac, dismissed suggestions France wanted anything other than a victory of U.S.-British forces.
"I say clearly, there can be no hesitation for France. We cannot be on the side of dictators....We are obviously not in favor of a victory of a dictatorship."
After being savaged as "surrender monkeys" by parts of the U.S. media, and vague threats of a U.S. consumer boycott of French goods, Paris has launched a determined campaign to avoid portrayal as a Saddam sympathizer.
Last week the foreign ministry protested loudly over reports in some British and U.S. media that French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin had refused to publicly state Paris wished a victory of Anglo-American forces fighting in Iraq.
Chirac on Thursday also sought to ease strains caused by France's opposition to the war being fought by British and U.S. troops in Iraq.
He sent a letter of apology to Britain's Queen Elizabeth over the defacing last week of British World War One military graves in northern France with anti-British slogans linked to the fighting in Iraq.
"Know that at a time when your soldiers are engaged in combat, the thoughts of the French are naturally with them," he said. The gesture was welcomed by Downing Street. |
