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

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (120311)	11/23/2003 6:33:11 AM
From: D. Long	Respond to of 281500

When he finished his diatribe against "America and the Jews," they cheered him. The contempt towards my country only a few weeks after thousands of people lost their lives in terror attacks was so palpable that I left before the conclusion of the conference. There's the coup de grace to the illusion of "squandered international sympathy" after 9/11. There was none to begin with. Derek

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (120311)	11/23/2003 6:41:36 AM
From: Dennis O'Bell	Respond to of 281500

The next speaker, a high-ranking French official, began by saying: "I identify with bin Laden and understand his agenda!" He went on to say that, "the U.S. deserve this attack." In fact, he declared: "the U.S. brought it upon herself with her unjust attitude towards the Palestinians." But at that time bin Laden had not mentioned the Palestinians; instead, he had called for the killing of all Americans, Jews, and other infidels — including Christians — and for destroying the U.S. economy. Yet, the French official, who might have been expected to be an ally, repeated his statement while the audience encouraged him to go on. When he finished his diatribe against "America and the Jews," they cheered him. The contempt towards my country only a few weeks after thousands of people lost their lives in terror attacks was so palpable that I left before the conclusion of the conference. Just who is this "French official" ? Is there a reason not to cite him by name ? As I tried to understand this French enmity, it occurred to me that the speaker might have had a personal reason to be so openly venomous. It did not take long to discover that, indeed, this French official was seated on the board of a Saudi bank that the U.S. Treasury Department had listed as supporting terrorism. It was this discovery that cemented my decision to further explore the reasons for the West's complicity in the financing of terrorism. There is no shortage of "useful idiots" on the French political scene and I can easily imagine a number of the extreme left wingnuts saying things like these, but don't know who might be on the board of a Saudi bank.

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (120311)	11/23/2003 8:50:31 AM
From: skinowski	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

indeed, this French official was seated on the board of a Saudi bank that the U.S. Treasury Department had listed as supporting terrorism. OK, so this high French official may have had a vested interest in "identifying" with bin Laden and in "understand[ing] his agenda" - but what about the other "few hundred academicians, jurists, bankers, law-enforcement officials, and reporters who attended the conference - mostly French" - who cheered this speaker? As early as 1966 - when France dropped out of NATO - our differences were already real. Many in Europe think that Americans are "bumpkins", while they, presumably, are more sophisticated and experienced in world affairs. I think that they underestimate Americans - but what they think about themselves, is absolutely correct. Many centuries of political intrigue, bloody wars, revolutions, conspiracies, genocide - yes, such an experience will certainly make people politically sophisticated. America doesn't have such rich experience. Heck... maybe we are better off (and, perhaps, even wiser?) without it. History keeps repeating, and all those repetitive swings from one extreme to another may not be conducive towards retaining clear vision. It could be that Europe's present violent impulse towards non-violence - at any cost whatsoever - is just the other side of the same old bloody coin.

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (120311)	11/23/2003 11:49:54 AM
From: 2MAR$	Respond to of 281500

Iraq Picks American Rend Rahim Francke, as Ambassador to U.S. nytimes.com AGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 22 — An Iraqi-American activist whose foundation has spent much of the last decade devising visions of democratic rule for Iraq and lobbying for a war crimes trial of Saddam Hussein, will become the country's diplomatic representative in Washington, Iraqi political leaders said Saturday. Her appointment will be announced in the next few days by the interim foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, they said. The activist, Rend Rahim Francke, 54, has directed the Iraq Foundation, which she helped create in 1991, and is a familiar face in Washington from her years lobbying policy makers to provide more muscular support for opponents of Mr. Hussein. Her new job, she said in an interview here, as a representative of the Iraqi Governing Council, will be a kind of informal ambassadorship. She said she would represent the emerging Iraqi authority and speak "for the nascent Iraqi government." "It is awkward," she added, "because technically Iraq is still a country under occupation." She was inspired, she said, by the immense anger she felt after the Persian Gulf war of 1991, when the American-led coalition decided against pursuing and trying to topple Mr. Hussein. "I can't tell you my anger — anger at the U.S., anger at the Arab world — and frustration," she said. "To have Iraq destroyed and the regime preserved was the ultimate tragedy." *an excellent choice , may she live long .