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| Europe | |
| French snub outrages British intelligence | |
| 2004-04-25 | |
British intelligence agencies are furious with their French counterparts after being refused assistance in their efforts to track terrorists in this country linked to the Madrid bombers. The row has led to the worst rift between British and French intelligence agencies for years and is hindering attempts to trace connections between Moroccans involved in the Madrid bombs and Islamic militants in Britain. A senior Home Office official said: "We are getting very good co-operation from the Moroccans and the Spanish but there appears to be a hiccup with the French." David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, is seeking to repair the rift in talks with Dominique de Villepin, the French interior minister. The row erupted after Britain declined a French offer to provide Arab speakers with local knowledge to help the coalition in Iraq.
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| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #3 The French make it more clear each day which side they are on. Perhaps we shouldn't remove all those troops from Germany...just make sure the gates on the western sides of the bases can handle four M1A2s abreast. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-04-25 6:42:38 PM |
| #2 I bet there was plenty of giggling en Francais when they made that offer... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-04-25 11:42:02 AM |
| #1 "Arab speakers with local knowledge" Hmmm. Of course these could be fine, useful individuals, who might contribute to coalition objectives in Iraq. Then again .... this reminds me of one of the billion idiocies that course unchallenged through discussions of Iraq: if only we were nicer to others, they'd help us out. Yet the same baggage or inimical interests that led such as France and Russia to make last-ditch stands to save Saddam are exactly why we, or Iraqis, would not trust these folks or their kind, post-Saddam. |
| Posted by: IceCold 2004-04-25 11:27:11 AM |