Chris, This question was asked of you because I know little about the two countries' previous relationship, and less about that of their leaders. You are much closer to the scene, but I couldn't really get a sense of the actual "debt" owed that concerns you from what you submitted below. All I could read into it was that a magical new bond was unfolding, but the fundamental rationale for this mutual admiration, other than politics, was not clear.
Do you mean that Chirac is much more worried about terrorism than the world was lead to believe after 9/11, and that France depends upon Israel to be the military might that will quell any serious threats from Iran (or local others)? Is this, do you think, what obviates from Chirac's mind, the immense benefits of trading oil in Euros? I'm not familiar with French/US trade/debt load, but if Chirac is concerned about Iranian proliferation, I should think that financial debt to either the US or Israel would guide current policy towards Iran. Natalia All mail scanned by NAV ----- Original Message ----- From: Christoph Reuss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 1:15 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Reprint of R. Needham's forward | Natalia asked: | > Could you expand your comment regarding the debt owed by Chirac to Sharon? | | See item below. If you have a better explanation on why Chirac is hostile | to the country that wants to make his euro the world's petro-currency, | I'm interested. | | Chris | | | AFP July 29, 2005 | | Friends again as Sharon ends visit to France | | PARIS - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left Paris Friday at the end of | a three-day visit to France which officials from both countries said | confirmed a new spirit of friendship after years of mutual mistrust. | | Speaking on French radio just before boarding the plane for Tel Aviv, | Sharon, 77, said it was the "dawn of a new era" in Franco-Israeli | relations. | | "France has a central role in everything that happens in the Middle East, | in Lebanon, in Syria and Iran," the prime minister said. | | "There is no point looking for a fly in the ointment. There isn't one," a | Sharon aide told AFP. "The whole trip has been extraordinary. Our | differences are almost non-existent." | ... | Sharon called Chirac "one of the world's great leaders" while the president | decribed Sharon as "courageous" for his planned pull-out from the Gaza | Strip next month. | | Officials said a convergence of views was established on a series of | subjects, including the fight against terrorism, the need to check Iran's | nuclear programme, the assertion of Lebanese independence and a firm line | against anti-Semitism. | | | | _______________________________________________ | Futurework mailing list | [email protected] | http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework | _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
