'OBAMA GOES TO WAR'
[Hoje
Macau, Macau]
Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, France
To America or France, Sarkozy Must
Break His Promise
"Carried away by his temperament and emotion, the President
took an enormous risk the day he promised that France wouldn't send another man
to Kabul."
By Olivier Picard
Translated By
Juliet Fox
December 4,
3009
France - Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace - Home Page
(French)
One
way or another, France will have to choose between two positions: the one it
gave to America or the one that it gave to the French. Even if the diplomatic
code allows Nicolas Sarkozy to find an honorable way out that keeps up
appearances, the president of the republic is in a tight spot. Here he is, back
against the wall, forced to make a decision and headed for a wrenching choice
like those that came before him, Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin, when
they were confronted with the Iraqi dilemma.
The
players have changed. But the popularity of the new White House tenant renders
the equation even more complex than the one posed by George W. Bush in 2003. It
was natural enough to resist the policies of a war caricature and partisan of
force who was sure of the hegemony of the West and committed to the
quasi-religious ideology of a clash of the civilizations. It will be much more
difficult to temper the pragmatic approach of a Nobel Peace Prize winner armed
with a planetary humanism and in the face of the terrorist barbarity.
On
paper, everything should have pointed to the Atlanticist and deliberate French
president toward supporting, without reservation, its historic ally, engaged
with a declared ideological modesty in a fight deemed noble and decisive. The
declarations of Nicolas Sarkozy - those he has proclaimed since his first
presidential visit to the United States - would alone have justified the unequivocal
support of France. A direct “yes” to Washington’s clearly-formulated request.
But Paris has offered only its embarrassment. The leaders of the UMP (Union for
a Popular Movement, the ruling party) worked all day yesterday to disguise what
strongly-resembled an attempt to buy time.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Nicolas
Sarkozy knows he can't risk directly-provoking public opinion on such a major issue.
A strong majority of French are clearly opposed to sending new troops to
Afghanistan. So, 1,500 men … that would be enormous. It would be unacceptable
for a country traumatized by losses, albeit limited, that it judges to have
been in vain. Carried away by his temperament and emotion, the President took
an enormous risk the day he promised that France wouldn't send another man to
Kabul. It was a politically-popular declaration hurled at the problem of a spontaneous
revolt. A time bomb.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Le Monde, France:
Nicolas Sarkozy's 'Neither-Nor' on the Afghan Surge
Berliner Zeitung, Germany:
Obama's Hope is All
Afghanistan Has Left
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia:
NATO Still 'Clueless' About What to Do Next
Liberation, France:
Obama's Hesitation on Afghanistan May Cost Him Dearly
The Nation, Pakistan :
Obama's Speech:
'Servility' Toward
U.S. Has its Limits
The Frontier Post, Pakistan:
America Reveals Dark Side of the Human Intellect
Asia Times, Hong Kong:
China Maps
End to the Afghanistan War
Gazeta, Russia:
U.S. and Russia Share Responsibility for 'Afghan Anthill'
In
the context of war, one pays dearly for such imprudence. All the more so since
France reintegrated into NATO’s command structure several months ago. To
inaugurate this return by diverging with the United States would mean chaos …
and sending trainers? That would evoke the Vietnam of 1963, when Kennedy sent
“military advisors” to Saigon. But even worse than divergence is doubt. And
what if the president no longer really believed that American military victory
were possible in Afghanistan? The transatlantic divide would become a complete
rupture. It would be explosive.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US, Dec. 7, 2:40pm
