Reply #28: A lot of assumptions and a simple answer... [View All]

[booley]

I am not going to go into his motives. I have no idea what they are. But right off I see a lot of ASSumptions.

"...he actively worked against U.S. interests in the lead-up to the war in Iraq."

Firstly, how has wasting time, Lots of Money and LOTS AND LOTS OF LIVES to stop WMDS that weren't there and Terrorists that weren't there when we invaded (but are there now and growing stronger becuase of our Forces presence there) in OUR INTEREST? It has not been explained to me how weakening our security and giving free propaganda to our terrorist enemies has helped our country.

Why would France be under any obligation to help Shrub ruin his (OUR!) own country? Indeed, if France was our friend, why wouldn't they try to stop us from making a huge mistake that would hurt them and us?

"....No one in the French government has ever explained that to us, and all we can do is speculate."

Secondly, as the build-up to war came closer it was pretty clear that the Shrubbery didn't have credible evidence that Saddam was the threat they claimed he was, that the US wasn't interested in supporting the inspections (even though they would have corroborated the Shrubbery's claims if they were true) and that Shrub was going to invade no matter what happened.

Add to this that France is a DEMOCRACY and that they had THOUSANDS of it's citizens protesting against the war. Last I heard french politicans get elected by thier people.

So maybe the reason France pulled is quote simple.
Ever have to dal with somebody who was a real jerk but you were too polite to say they were a jerk but you still had to get rid of them? So when they asked why they were being thrown out of the party, you replied 'I think you know why" and slammed the door?

You're France and the Shrubbery is the Jerk. I imagine the reason Chirac didn't explain his about face is that he simply didn't know a diplomatic way of explaining that he didn't want to get involved in a war that was incredibly unpopular among his citizens based on the LIES of a WARMONGERING IDIOT.

But that's just what I'm seeing.