[The
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.]
Le Figaro, France
Obama 'Disarmament Lesson' Annoys French Officials
"Paris
is annoyed at the worldwide enthusiasm unleashed by President Obama's speech on
disarmament … it is feared that the effect of the extremely flattering image
obtained by the new president reinforces the perception of a France that clings
to its nuclear weapons."
By Alain Barluet
Translated By L. McKenzie Zeiss
April 10, 2009
France - Le Figaro - Original Article
(French)
EXCLUSIVE: A memo intended
for Nicolas Sarkozy minimizes the impact of the speech in Prague given by the
American president last Sunday.
Paris is annoyed at the
worldwide enthusiasm unleashed by the speech on disarmament given in Prague
last Sunday by Barack Obama [Watch Below]. Certainly, the initiatives he
announced were officially saluted in a communiqué from the Quai d’Orsay
[France's Foreign Ministry]. At the Elysée, the propositions of the American
president on the elimination of nuclear arms were deemed "100 percent
positive."
But at the same time, it is
feared that the effect of the extremely flattering image obtained by the new
head of the White House by praising total denuclearization ("Global
Zero") reinforces the perception of a France that clings to its nuclear
weapons. Paris, in any case, doesn't intend to "take lessons from the
Americans" on the matter of disarmament, a process to which they [members
of the French government] believe themselves to have contributed greatly.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Introducing a flat note into the
prevailing Obamania, the Elysée's diplomatic core has just produced a memo on
Nicolas Sarkozy’s intent to minimize the impact and unprecedented nature of his
speech in Prague in quite abrasive terms. "This is in the form of a
declaration. This isn't a question of a speech on American security policy, but
of an export intended primarily to improve the image of the United
States," according to the analysis of someone in Nicolas Sarkozy’s
entourage. "Let us leave theology for later and work seriously toward
disarmament," the same source declared.
President
Obama speaks in Prague's Hradcany Square, Czech
Republic.
The president called for more aggressive efforts to rid
world
of nuclear weapons, April 4. WATCH 
According to the Elysée’s
interpretation, the vision developed by Barack Obama in the Czech capitol of
"a world without nuclear weapons" in fact masks Washington's delays
in the "gigantic and financially very costly" field of disarmament.
Furthermore, the source pointed out, "most of these proposals reflect the
policy of George Bush."
SEVERE JUDGMENTS
Thus, negotiations for a
renewal of talks on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty [START] on cutting the number
of strategic weapons (around 10,000 on the American side, and the Russian side
as well) are stuck in neutral, even if the meeting between Barack Obama and
[Russian President] Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the G20 in London
permits hope for a revival of discussions.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
'Prague Spring … Pyongyang Frost'
Die Welt, Germany:
Obama's 'Erroneous' Comments on Nukes
Gazeta, Russia:
Obama and Medvedev: Good Mood Music that Skirted the Central Issues
Le Figaro, France:
President Obama: 'What a Change for the Alliance!'
Der Spiegel, Germany:
'Yankee Bombs Go Home':
Foreign Minister Wants U.S. Nukes Off German Soil
The same relativism holds for
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),
signed by Washington but rejected for ratification by the American Senate.
France, for its part, renounced nuclear testing in 1998. "It
is time for the testing of nuclear weapons to finally be banned," said
Barack Obama before the audience in Prague. "Thank you very much,"
huffed the Elysée, "but in this case, it's the United States causing the
problem." On a third key question - halting production of fissile material
- "George Bush had already tabled a draft treaty with the Conference on
Disarmament," says a counselor at the Elysée. Such production sites still
exist, particularly in the United States and China, even while Paris is looking
to dismantle its own plants in Marcoule and Pierrelatte.
President
Barack Obama speaks with French President Nicolas
Sarkozy at the NATO Summit on Apr. 3. It looks like President
Obama has more persuading to do on the issue of disarmament.
The American president’s call
to "consolidate" the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is
the next to be reviewed, also leaves the French leadership cold. "The
reinforcement of inspections and the creation of an international nuclear fuel
bank are ideas brought up a long time ago," the Elysée commented. In his
speech, the American president asks for "real and immediate
consequences for countries caught breaking the rules." Such rules already exist, objects one expert
on the issue. "Already in 2004, at the time of the G8 summit at Sea Island
[Georgia], the decision was made to suspend cooperation with countries that
violate their commitments," notes one such expert.
The last component brought up
by Barack Obama concerns the struggle against nuclear terrorism. Paris doubts
the American promise to "secure all vulnerable nuclear material around
the world within four years." And Paris awaits, on this theme, the
conference to be held next year in the United States - one of the only meetings
that have been announced bearing the imprint of Barack Obama. This is one topic
that he knows well, since as a senator he was personally involved - alongside
Republican Richard Lugar - with securing the nuclear arsenal of the former
Soviet Union.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US April 13, 10:29pm]
