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| Europe |
| France sez their Iraq intelligence correct |
| 2004-02-07 |
| Senator John McCain told reporters at a global security conference: "It wasn’t just an American intelligence failure, it was German, it was French, it was British, it was Israeli -- it was all intelligence failures, and we need to find out why that happened." Asked about McCain’s comments, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France had not reached the same conclusions as "the Anglo-Saxons" on the basis of available intelligence such as satellite photographs. She said that was why Paris had argued against last year’s U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and in favor of letting U.N. inspectors keep searching for the alleged weapons of mass destruction. "It’s true that intelligence...has its limits. Knowing how to recognize its limits and find other means is the way to avoid committing mistakes," she told a news conference. anglo-saxons?? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are they trying to call us white trash? lol |
| Posted by:TS |
| #11 "Anglo-saxons" like Powell and Rice? |
| Posted by: Dev 2004-2-8 12:27:04 AM |
| #10 I will probably be the last one to hold onto the WMD claim but I still say the jury is out on WMDs. We still DON'T control the area in the Sunni triangle and we passed Sammy's digs five times with seeing him. On another note $CREW THE FRENCH! |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-2-7 9:54:15 PM |
| #9 Unfortunately few people have read Count de Marenches, the French spychief's, "The Fourth World War" (1992 Morrow). The book is loaded with material on the early France-Saddam Hussein entente, which was initiated by Marenches himself. In reality little has changed over two decades. |
| Posted by: Tancred 2004-2-7 8:56:09 PM |
| #8 Unfortunaely you see more "anglo-saxons" references in the French press these days. Every one is deragoatory. A knee jerk response, just the same way they spit out "cowboy" when talking about the Bush admin. Simply a defense mechanism that is so lacking in originality that its use only accentuates France's irrelevance in the WOT/anti Islamofascism battle to come in the next 20 years. Not irrelevant in intel and policing, but in military commitments beyond what they're doing in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Michael 2004-2-7 7:59:12 PM |
| #7 "the Anglo-Saxons"? How 'bout them perfidious Gauls. :) What a silly statement. Although it does give insight to what is left of the French soul. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-2-7 5:33:45 PM |
| #6 Thanks Robert Crawford...I was wondering what she meant by that. I learn something new everyday here at Rantburg. |
| Posted by: TS 2004-2-7 4:50:30 PM |
| #5 Yeah really, Cheddarhead, I don't recall France ever saying Iraq didn't have WMD and they can prove it, I suppose they really aren't actually saying their intelligence was correct, they are just saying they are smarter than us, and they made the correct decision based on the intelligence, and we didn't cause we are dumb white imperalists. The thing is, America would rather err on the side of safety and protect her citizens, while France obviously would not. (except protecting their citizens from the little girls headscarf onslaught) Or maybe it is just that France doesn't give a flying F about anyone elses safety except their own, and they think they will be safe from Islamofascists if they appease internationally and "crackdown" internally by removing headscarves. I wouldn't wish sharia on any country, but if any country ever deserved it, it would be France. And whaadya know, they just might get it. |
| Posted by: TS 2004-2-7 4:35:45 PM |
| #4 The "Anglo-Saxons" line goes back to an old French hatred: anyone who speaks English. Seriously, during the Nazi invasion of France, the English offered a temporary union that would guarantee the French colonies would stay in the war, and guarantee someplace for French forces to recover. The French response included a wonderful line to the effect that they'd rather be Nazi slaves than English partners. As far as I'm concerned, there's no difference between the current French government and the Vichy. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-2-7 4:34:37 PM |
| #3 Right! And their business contracts had nothing to do with it. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-2-7 4:25:30 PM |
| #2 Yeah Yeah. thats it! We opposed it because our intel said they had no WMD It certainly wasn't because we were making millions on the oil-for-palaces program and bribes... certainly not that... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-7 4:17:22 PM |
| #1 One question. If they felt they had the right intelligence why the hell didn't they come forward with it? |
| Posted by: Cheddarhead 2004-2-7 4:06:44 PM |