U.S.-French Dispute Lingers Past Iraq War
URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86221,00.html
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
WASHINGTON — President Bush continues his round of "thank yous" to heads of state who supported the U.S.-led war on Iraq, meeting Wednesday at the White House with Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar (search).
The two will hold a brief news conference late in the afternoon and then discuss reconstruction efforts in Iraq and the maneuvering at the United Nations to get U.N. sanctions against Iraq lifted.
France and Russia have objected to the immediate lifting of sanctions, demonstrating that the pre-war skirmishes that pocked U.S. relations with those countries have not yet healed.
In an interview with four Spanish newspapers published Wednesday, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice criticized France and Germany for their tactics during the diplomatic disputes that preceded the war in Iraq.
"Nobody should take NATO (search) hostage," Rice said, referring to threats issued from Paris to newly-allied Eastern European countries that backed the United States in the war.
"It was very unsettling that Germany and France tried to prevent NATO from reinforcing the security of Turkey. There were many unsettling things in that process," Rice said.
She also told reporters that the United States is not to blame for divisions in Europe that have lingered since the war.
"It wasn't us that threatened smaller countries with reprisals nor tried to shut up the countries of Eastern Europe," Rice said.
That last comment referred to French President Jacques Chirac's (search) remark that the countries of Eastern Europe had missed an opportunity to "shut up."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday that Rice made her remarks openly and was responding to provocative comments made prior to the war.
Fleischer said the United States "should not sweep France's comments under the rug."
The United States finds itself at odds again with France and Russia over ending U.N. sanctions against Iraq. The United States wants sanctions lifted completely before the June 3 deadline for the latest six-month oil-for-food program.
If sanctions are lifted, that would allow the United States to use Iraqi oil money to rebuild Iraq.
However, Russia and France, which lost millions in oil and goods contracts when the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled, say they want U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to administer the program until the United Nations confirms Iraq's weapons program has been destroyed.
The United States has its own weapons inspectors in the country and top officials say it's not necessary for U.N. inspectors to return.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is headed to the United Nations on Wednesday to discuss the status of the sanctions with Annan.
Fox News' James Rosen and the Associated Press contributed to this report. |
