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Europe
Chirac : Israel 'wants to destroy Lebanon'
2006-07-14
FRENCH President Jacques Chirac has said there appeared to be a "wish to destroy Lebanon" in reference to Israel's bombardments following the abduction of two soldiers.

"One may well ask if there isn't today a kind of wish to destroy Lebanon - its infrastructure, its roads, its communications, its energy, its airport. And for what?

"I find honestly - as all Europeans do - that the current reactions are totally disproportionate," he said in a live television interview to mark France's July 14 national day.

"In the Middle East we are currently in a situation of great fragility and instability. We are in a dangerous situation, a very dangerous situation. We must be very, very careful," he said.

The President welcomed the dispatch of a UN mission to the Middle East, whose aim he said should be to secure the release of the Israeli prisoners - including one held in Gaza - establish a ceasefire and study new security arrangements along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Posted by:Oztralian

#25  Somebody needs to terminate this silly piece of fecal matter. I'll chip in a fin. Any others? B TW, taking out the entire French "cabinet" would be worth an extra $50.

Yeah, I know I'm cheap. I'm also broke!
Posted by: Old Patriot   2006-07-14 18:48  

#24  Assuming Chirac wants to be pro-Arab for France and all, which side does he take when the Arabs are split over the Hezbollah attacks?

Easy, defend the generics like infrastructure, and blame the Jews. He really has an astute sense of wishy-washy politics.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-07-14 15:36  

#23  "wish to destroy Lebanon"

Hey Jaques, aren't you and yours destroying France by turning it into an Islamic nation?
Posted by: gromgoru   2006-07-14 14:11  

#22  a5089 said some time back that President Chiraq is suffering from senility.

At least, supposedly, remember he had two strokes in 2005; hosts at an independent rightwing radio (not a Coast to Coast type) mentioned it a couple of time, reporting anecdoctes about him confusing peoples or getting angry over childish matters, being incoherent,... and one guest who was a member of an official trip to China noted how shiraq looked more "tired" than the late socialist president mitterrand while his hidden cancer was terminal.

Still, this speech is not because he's senile or decrepit, it's because he's the embodiment of the french Arab Policy.

Remember, he was the only western head of State to go to the funeral of his pal hafez el assad (pencil neck's daddy), arafat called him "uncle shiraq", he's got *very* close ties to the moroccan royal family (his 1995 successful presidential campaign was made to spin doctors paid by the late king hassan II, he's got maybe three castles there, and his grandson's father *supposedly* is moroccan), his bankroller and close friend was rafik hariri, he played the syrian card in Lebanon to the hilt before rafik turned coat and was killed... in 2000 he had a private meeting with nasrallah during a reunion of the french speakers organization, and as Lotp noted, he and his ilk see Lebanon as his/their private turf.

He's not stoopid, he's on the other side.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-07-14 14:03  

#21  a5089 said some time back that President Chiraq is suffering from senility.
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-07-14 13:43  

#20  Sad to think that this kind of idjit is actually running a country. Doesn't he get some kind of briefing on why these things are happening? He doesn't have any more understanding of the situation than the average Joe! Perhaps he should keep his mouth shut until he actually consults with some experts, because he's going to have to back away from those words if he ever manages to comprehend what's going on.
Posted by: gorb   2006-07-14 13:40  

#19  coffee alert, Besoeker! I just can't get over how freakin' naive some of these idjits are. We all know if Israel wanted to really destroy Leb, they'd do it, by gum, and not look back.
Posted by: BA   2006-07-14 12:52  

#18  As if he is doing such a good job at slowing the radical Islam movement in France. He had a good spring with a 600 car per night torching. What's good for France just might not be acceptable in Israel.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-07-14 12:51  

#17  In your very best French accent:

"Zer are only are two types of men in de world, "artiests" and le "*ocksuckiers."

Jacques is no artiest!
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-07-14 11:19  

#16  From his perspective Israeli actions are disproportionate. France would just pay up to get their troops back.
Posted by: DoDo   2006-07-14 11:17  

#15  If Israel wanted to "destroy Lebanon", they wouldn't be bombing largely symbolic targets.
Posted by: Crusader   2006-07-14 11:16  

#14  Chirac has played close to the Arabs for decades and views France as the natural overseer protector of Lebanon, although they haven't exactly protected them from either Syria or Iran.
Posted by: lotp   2006-07-14 11:14  

#13  He must have a rat in his pocket.
Posted by: jay-dubya   2006-07-14 11:12  

#12  Hey Jacques, who's "we"?
Posted by: texhooey   2006-07-14 11:01  

#11  He needs a tour of Israel where the rockets are hitting.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-07-14 10:47  

#10  Siddown and STFU, Jacques. We'll let you know if we need help from corrupt lame ducks.
Posted by: mojo   2006-07-14 10:42  

#9  Back to your cave, bat.

Like the status quo, Chiraq? Hizb'Allah, a terrorist organization thriving in Lebanon. Thousands of long range rockets pointed at Israeli civilians, Syria meddling in Lebanon's affairs. Permanent Ein-el-hellhole camp in southern Lebanon. Etc etc. Yes, Chiraq, you have heaven on earth in Lebanon. You do not even defend your country from hoodlums and terrorists, so why should Israel listen to you? Better look at Brazil for retirement, where they cannot extradite you for your own crimes against France.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-07-14 10:15  

#8  What a lying piece of frog crap. Israel dropped leaflets asking Lebanese to move out of harm's way. Israel hardly has strategic aims of occupying Lebanon. In fact, most locals would like to see Hizbollah liquidated.
Posted by: Anginens Threreng8133   2006-07-14 09:48  

#7  He's right, blowing up the infrastructure is inhumane.

I guess they should just switch to deliberately targeting people instead. Leave the poor buildings alone!!
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2006-07-14 09:39  

#6  Me too!
Me too!
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2006-07-14 09:27  

#5  a "wish to destroy Lebanon"

-and the problem is??

Oh, I don't think they're wishing anymore. Wishing is when you want something but don't act on it. I think the Israelis are done w/that bit.
Posted by: Broadhead6   2006-07-14 09:17  

#4  Nah. Israel just wants to destroy France and is trying to lure you to your destruction. Really.
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-07-14 09:13  

#3  This is the idiot that going to prison after he done being President, if he don't make himself dictator for life first.
Posted by: djohn66   2006-07-14 08:56  

#2  Rich, given France created the Lebanon problem in the first place by adding the Bekka valley to an otherwise viable christian arab state (circa 1920).
Posted by: phil_b   2006-07-14 08:56  

#1  A little extra info has been added to the article...
Blah Blah
Posted by: Oztralian   2006-07-14 08:56  

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