--- Jon Gabriel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If the French are 'fair weather friends' then they > should be treated as > such. But they most certainly should not be > classified as 'enemies' on the > 'those who hate us' column. > > Jon
Well, maybe. If this were a one-time thing, then I would agree with you. But it isn't. France has been pretty open that the primary objective of its foreign policy since the end of the Cold War has been the "containment" of the United States. I have been told that people in the Pentagon, at least, are not at all surprised by France's recent behavior, because they've been seeing signs of it for more than two years now, on many issues that have nothing to do with Iraq. I actually disagree with you, btw, that this is about France's monetary interests. Discarding the (real, but small) possibility that Chirac has been bought off by TEF, the sums involved aren't that much. I think this is about creating a French-dominated EU that can act as a counterweight to the United States. This is not in our interest, to say the least. It's not in _France's_ interest either, but France's recent history does not inspire in me the faith that they are capable of calculating their interests correctly. But a country that is trying to create a global power to act as a rival to the United States, and that has defined its foreign policy since the end of the Cold War almost solely by its opposition to the US, is sure _acting_ like an American enemy. Look at it this way - a fair weather friend is one thing. But what would you say about a "fair-weather friend" who _threatened_ other friends of yours who were supporting you in stormy weather to get them to stop supporting you? I think you'd call that person an enemy, not a friend. And that's exactly what France openly did to the countries of Eastern Europe who supported the US in this confrontation. Gautam __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
