France Rejects So-Called "War On Terror"
Julie Farby - All Headline News Staff Writer Paris, France (AHN)-Rejecting talk of a "war on terror," France issued an implicit criticism of U.S. foreign policy on Thursday. Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin expressed these views on global terrorism, while noting President Jacques Chirac's strong opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and how the Arab state had now sunk into violence and was feeding new regional crises. Villepin said in a debate on the Middle East, "Let us not forget that these crises play into the hands of all extremists...Against terrorism, what's needed is not a war. It is, as France has done for many years, a determined fight based on vigilance at all times and effective cooperation with our partners." Villepin continues, "But we will only end this curse if we also fight against injustice, violence and these crises." While not explicitly mentioning the U.S., Villepin's rejection of language employed by Bush, who often uses the expression "war on terror" underlined the longstanding differences between Paris and Washington. However, both France and the United States have played down rifts opened by the Iraq war, pointing especially to cooperation on attempts by the West to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. But differences in tone and style have often resurfaced, most recently during the Lebanon crisis, where France initially offered to send just 40 |
