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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LLLefty who wrote (95835)	4/23/2003 6:15:25 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 281500

"going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You leave a lot of noisy useless baggage behind." U.S. Officials Consider Ways to Punish France By BRIAN KNOWLTON, International Herald Tribune WASHINGTON, April 23 French officials responded brusquely today to an assertion by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell that France would be made to suffer for its opposition to the war in Iraq. Dominique de Villepin, Mr. Powell's French counterpart, sounded a defiant tone in insisting that France would not be bowed by American pressure or threats. "Throughout the Iraq crisis, France, along with a very large majority of the international community, acted in conformity with its convictions and its principles to defend international law," Mr. Villepin said during a trip to Turkey. "It will continue to do so in all circumstances." Secretary Powell's comment on Tuesday, during a television interview, came a day after a White House meeting aimed at finding ways to punish France, which led the opposition to the United States-led military attack against Iraq and thwarted Washington's attempt to win United Nations support to the move. Participants in the meeting reportedly considered actions ranging from lessening French influence in NATO to excluding the French from some international forums. "They are trying to find ways to create alternative mechanisms for dealing with the French, or rather without them, and not just at NATO," Agence France-Presse quoted a senior American official as saying. The meeting reportedly was chaired by Stephen Hadley, deputy to the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and the participants included deputies representing Vice President Cheney's office, the Pentagon, and the State Department. Mr. Powell spoke by telephone today to Mr. Villepin and made it clear that France's opposition to the war would have consequences, said the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher. But Mr. Boucher said that the France and the United States remained allies and would continue to cooperate "wherever we find it in our interest to do so." When asked during the television interview whether France would face consequences over Iraq, Mr. Powell replied simply, "Yes." He then added, "We have to look at all aspects of our relationship with France in light of this." nytimes.com