"In rediscovering 'its rightful
place' in what Nicolas Sarkozy calls the Western 'family,' France is not in any
way abandoning its independence. On the contrary, in this way, it will make its
voice heard - in America and Europe as well."
U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden promises a 'new tone' from Washington at the 45th Munich
Conference on Security, but warns that other nations will have to do
more, Feb. 7 [watch below].
France will not let the
historic moment that the arrival of Barack Obama to White House represents fall
by the wayside. [President] Nicolas Sarkozy has established himself as the
indispensible interlocutor with new American administration while in
Washington, international relations are being reviewed from top to bottom.
The security conference in
Munich last weekend was the occasion of the first transatlantic contact. The
president of the Republic took advantage of it to present himself as the head
of the line [leading head of state] for the Old Continent, which is
determined to play its full role on the international scene.
"Does Europe want peace?
Or does she want to be left in peace?" In Munich, a city whose name is
still tied to the passivity of the European powers when confronted with the
rise of Nazism, this question issued by our head of state had a particular
resonance.
The "new European voluntarism
[willingness to take part]" which Sarkozy wants to embody, the efficacy of
which he proved during the French presidency of the E.U., remains intact.
Seeking assistance to balance out the poisonous heritage left by Bush, the
Americans will not neglect such support.
Nicolas Sarkozy has now
translated his determination in a symbolically charged decision: France's
welcome of a Bundeswehr [German Army] battalion near Strasbourg. The gesture
is audacious, but demonstrates the continuity of the Franco-German
reconciliation initiated by General de Gaulle, and the creation of the
Franco-German brigade by [German Chancellor] Helmut Kohl and [French President]
François Mitterrand twenty years ago.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
FRENCH FIRST LADY BRUNI ON DAVID LETTERMAN
The arrival of a German unit
in Alsace is a powerful signal with which to launch the debate on France’s
return to NATO's integrated command, which we left in 1966 in the midst of the Cold
War. The message is clear: those in France who oppose the need to adjust our
strategic position are clinging to a bygone era. It [the arrival of the German
unit] is also a way of showing that the Franco-German political entente is
capable of advocating for Europe's defense - even while the British stay in the
background.
Iran's parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani discusses
the bitter recent history of U.S.-Iran relations and the prospects for
talks with Washington, Feb. 6. [watch below].
In rediscovering "its
rightful place" in what Nicolas Sarkozy calls the Western
"family," France is not in any way abandoning its independence. On
the contrary, in this way, it will make its voice heard. In America it will be
better heard, and Europe as well. From now until the NATO summit in Strasbourg
at the beginning of April, which will consecrate France's full return to the
Atlantic Alliance, this is what the head of state [Sarkozy] will endeavor to
demonstrate.
The stakes are high at the
dawn of the Obama era. As Vice President Joe Biden put it, "America will do
more, but America will ask for more from our partners WATCH." On the French side, the political will is
manifest - as is the power of symbols. It isn't certain that this will suffice,
and that we won’t be "invited" to do more. For example, in
Afghanistan.
