Article

2005-02-23 Europe

Chirac 'Snubs' Dubya; Speaks French At Dinner

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Posted by Raj 2005-02-23 7:24:42 AM|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 NATO+UN=pointless waste of time and money.

Posted by raptor 2005-02-23 7:48:48 AM|| 2005-02-23 7:48:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 NATO is over. SEATO is the future. Get over it and move on.

Posted by Sock Puppet of Doom 2005-02-23 8:06:50 AM|| [http://www.slhess.com] 2005-02-23 8:06:50 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Â£2.5 million is next to nothing -- about $200,000 per NATO country.

So what if Chirac spoke French: Bush speaks Texan and Chirac obviously doesn't understand Texan. Chirac is never going to be a good cowboy.

Posted by Tom 2005-02-23 8:10:19 AM|| 2005-02-23 8:10:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Mr Bush said Nato was the "cornerstone" of US-Europe relations. Tony Blair agreed it was of "fundamental importance". Jacques Chirac babbled something in French, but nobody paid much attention, not having brought their translators, except one journalist who had taken a course in French in high school. He later reported that Chirac had said something like "...Fish heads cheese (in the) Paris moonlight earlobes", though others suggested that that sounded silly. Chirac was later seen cursing at an Arabic taxi cab driver who didn't speak French.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-02-23 8:41:05 AM|| 2005-02-23 8:41:05 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Chiraq is right, NATO should be dropped and the USA should pull equipment, personel, and paychecks out of Europe entirely. A truly modern hospital in Iraq would do more good than flying the injured to Germany anyway. It would be good for the fighting boys and it would be good for the region.

Posted by rjschwarz 2005-02-23 9:47:18 AM|| [http://rjschwarz] 2005-02-23 9:47:18 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Actually when you think on it the US is NATO. If we were not there NATO would be an enfeebled joke. The only thing Europe brings to the table is the ability to create internal conflict.

Other than it allows us to be in their knickers, and that may be worth something, I see no point to remaining in NATO.

I do find the Presidential tour interesting though. I never saw so many politicians spread so much doodoo in such a short period of time. I would be shocked and amazed if any of them have the slightest belief in this Europe is a meaningful partner crap. As far as I can tell the ony useful function Europe provides is that it keeps high tides from swamping the Kermlin.

I suspect that Chirac's problem is how best to digest the crap President Bush has been feeding him these last couple of days and that is most likely something best done in french, which may explain his behavior.

Posted by Michael 2005-02-23 10:10:25 AM|| 2005-02-23 10:10:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 He embraced a German-led plot to ditch the alliance as the backbone of transatlantic relations, in favour of the European Union.

Not a problem. The sooner NATO is dissolved and our forces and equipment removed, the better off things will be. Oh, and the facilities that will be left behind? We'd appreciate a little monetary gratuity. After all, it's pretty unlikely that what we leave behind would fall into disuse...

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-23 10:32:57 AM|| 2005-02-23 10:32:57 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Bulldoze them. Leave them w/the cleanup.

Posted by anonymous2u 2005-02-23 11:14:13 AM|| 2005-02-23 11:14:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 bulldoze the facilities and plant trees to help the environment and put them in moral quandry about how they can justify clear-cutting in order to reuse the land again.

Posted by rjschwarz 2005-02-23 11:20:21 AM|| [http://rjschwarz] 2005-02-23 11:20:21 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Doesn't the host country pay for and own the facilities?

Posted by Shipman 2005-02-23 11:35:03 AM|| 2005-02-23 11:35:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 if we completely pulled out of Europe ,it would only be a matter of time until Europe got itself in another mess we had to go back in all over again. So what if NATO is useless? It's not going to hurt to keep it going. There should be some sort of association the U.S. and Europe belong to together besides the U.N. It doesn't have to have deep meaning attached to it...they can call an early lunch and go play golf for all I care...just as long as they keep up a dialouge.

Posted by shellback 2005-02-23 11:38:43 AM|| 2005-02-23 11:38:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Actually, planting trees would be a very effective move. I have no doubt that various pollutants, such as lead and gasoline, have soaked into the soil, and certain tree and plant species have recently been shown to absorb such pollutants through their roots (cottonwood is very effective, sunflowers also, I believe). So, should the local gov't cut down the trees before they'd completed their clean-up work, a matter of a decade or two, that adds an additional dimension to their moral quandary.

Posted by trailing wife 2005-02-23 12:10:00 PM|| 2005-02-23 12:10:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Roosevelt Roads/Vieques, the sequel

Posted by Frank G 2005-02-23 12:17:28 PM|| 2005-02-23 12:17:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 NATO, the gift that keeps on giving

Posted by Lucky 2005-02-23 12:24:57 PM|| 2005-02-23 12:24:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 So what if NATO is useless? It's not going to hurt to keep it going.

Actually it will. As soon as the Euros lift the arms embargo on the Chicoms in an attempt to keep their (pick one) failing socialist states going US military technology will flow as follows: Uncle Sam ---> NATO ---> China. There's a HUGE downside to sticking with the failure.

Posted by AzCat 2005-02-23 12:55:19 PM|| 2005-02-23 12:55:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 As far as I can tell the ony useful function Europe provides is that it keeps high tides from swamping the Kermlin.

Great quote. Consider it stolen!

Posted by Raj 2005-02-23 1:04:31 PM|| 2005-02-23 1:04:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 Chirac âSnubsâ Dubya; Speaks French At Dinner

Well? I don't think anyone expected any different. Least of all the good Prez...

Posted by BigEd 2005-02-23 1:29:36 PM|| 2005-02-23 1:29:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 SEATO was disbanded in 1977.

Which doesn't mean Sock Puppet is wrong; SEATO may indeed be the right model for NATO in the future.

Posted by Steven Den Beste 2005-02-23 2:00:56 PM|| [http://denbeste.nu/Chizumatic/] 2005-02-23 2:00:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Yes AzCat, even more reason to stay involved. If we completely withdraw then we risk falling out of the loop and not knowing what's going where.

Posted by shellback 2005-02-23 2:12:54 PM|| 2005-02-23 2:12:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 US NATO airbases still fill a needed function. Furthermore,having NATO around keeps some of Europe's military and political leaders engaged w/US. Is NATO needed to defend Europe-not now. Is NATO useful in challenging those who want an Anti-American Unified Europe-yes.
To Eastern Europeans,even those who are not members,NATO represents a willingness to actually defend them from aggression and of the US to listen to other views. To Eastern Europeans,too much of history is the willingness of Western Europe to sacrifice them so the West can stay at peace a little longer.
Why are France and Germany staying in NATO? Is it because they recognize the powerful symbolism of NATO and fear being ostracized if they left? Do not doubt for a second that there are those in France,Germany and Brussels who want NATO dissolved,but they want the US to do it.

Posted by Stephen 2005-02-23 2:50:05 PM|| 2005-02-23 2:50:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 Has it been proved that President Bush does not understand French?

Posted by trailing wife 2005-02-23 3:19:20 PM|| 2005-02-23 3:19:20 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Bush should have responded in Spanish.

Posted by gromky 2005-02-23 3:35:06 PM|| 2005-02-23 3:35:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 ...or hard-core Texican...

Posted by mojo 2005-02-23 3:42:15 PM|| 2005-02-23 3:42:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 trailing wife & gromky should have the ideas combined. Then the question is, does Chirac understand Spanish?

queso que come el mono de la entrega

Posted by BigEd 2005-02-23 3:45:58 PM|| 2005-02-23 3:45:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 Better translation service :

El queso que come - mono de la rendiciÃ³n

Posted by BigEd 2005-02-23 3:56:16 PM|| 2005-02-23 3:56:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#26 Kick all continentals west of the Czechs out of NATO.

Posted by someone 2005-02-23 6:32:02 PM|| 2005-02-23 6:32:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#27 Chirac had been hoping to be chatting with Kerry instead of Dubya. Too bad, Froggy...

Posted by Seafarious 2005-02-23 6:44:18 PM|| 2005-02-23 6:44:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#28 NATO = Needs America To Operate

Posted by anon 2005-02-23 11:03:40 PM|| 2005-02-23 11:03:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#29 I knew a Commo Platoon Sergeant in Germany that worked with NATO. He said NATO countries were a fricking joke. The only country that put money into new equipment was the US. The first in line to try and take it was France , Germany, and the rest. Get rid of Belgium, France, Spain and Germany. Look at Turkey, but keep most of the rest. I'm sorry but, I live in Germany and these people won't fight for shit if it doesn't have to do with Germany itself, a shorter work week or an increase to their pay and already bloated benefits. Let them handle the next Kosovo by themselves. They're already 2 for 2 in destroying Europe in the last hundred years, I'm sure they could make it 3 for 3.

**Side Note: To hear the Germans wail about George Bush's visit was incredible. The main highway around Frankfurt was closed in all four directions. The German workers pretty much had to take a day of leave off. My wife was bemoaning their plight when I reminded her not to worry. The Germans will just go on their 3-4 week vacation, call in sick on week #2 (which means if they are on sick leave and they stop using their annual leave) extend their "illness" another week, which would have been their first week back just like they always do. Then at the end of the year tell their American employers with Doe eyes. Sorry but I have to take it. She then whined that they can't do that anymore because everybody is afraid to lose their jobs. I said, "See, you should thank Bush, he helped your entire country finally pull their heads out of their asses and join the real world." She wasn't amused...but I was.

Posted by 98Zulu 2005-02-23 11:43:59 PM|| 2005-02-23 11:43:59 PM|| Front Page Top

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