France Changes Iraq Stance

Our old friend France is finally back:

Sarkozy 'corrects' Chirac's errors

By Amir Taheri, Special to Gulf News
Published: August 22, 2007, 00:13

One of the key promises that Nicolas Sarkozy had made during his presidential election campaign last spring was to "correct" foreign policy "mistakes" made by his predecessor Jacques Chirac.

Chief among these was Chirac's desperate efforts to prevent the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussain's regime of terror.
Chirac failed to save his friend's regime but managed to do serious damage to relations with the US, Great Britain and more than 40 other nations that joined the coalition of the willing to liberate Iraq in 2003.

Sarkozy's moves to correct the mistake started even before his election when he met President George W. Bush at the White House in 2006 and described Chirac's policy as "arrogant".

The surprise visit paid to Iraq by France's new Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner this week is another move by Sarkozy to shed Chirac's disastrous legacy.
(snip)

Beyond its obvious symbolic and psychological value, France's change of position on Iraq could also have a number of practical positive effects.

Free of constant French diplomatic sniping, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) could fully honour its commitment to help train the new Iraqi army and police force.

So far, the alliance has trained no more than one tenth of the quota allocated to it. (In fact, Hungary seems to be the only Nato member to have done its share.)

The European Union could review its policy towards new Iraq in a positive way, starting by inviting the new Iraqi leaders and treating them as the legitimate elected representatives of their people. With French opposition no longer a factor, the EU could open an office in Baghdad and appoint a special emissary.

The new French policy on Iraq could also inspire a change of attitude in Moscow. With Schroeder and Chirac gone, Putin may find it harder to pursue an Iraq policy based on nostalgia for Saddam and petty enmity towards the US. full article

We lose Blair by election but gain Sarkozy via another. While I can't say its an even trade its still good to have one of America's oldest friends back in the fold. And frankly we could use all of the help we could get with Iraq.

France calls for tightening sanctions on Teheran

File this one under Whodathunkit

From the Jerusalem Post

Sarkozy calls to tighten sanctions on Teheran

"French President Nicholas Sarkozy called Wednesday for sanctions on Iran to be tightened if the country does not adhere to the West's demands to cease its nuclear agenda.

If Iran attains nuclear weapons, Sarkozy warned, a road to an arms race will be paved that could endanger Israel and southeast Europe, he said during an interview with a German magazine.

Sarkozy announced that France will join the official US-led struggle against head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei, who recommended that Iran be allowed to enrich uranium in some of its nuclear plants.

On Tuesday, American officials urged allies to back a formal protest against ElBaradei, saying his comments could hurt UN Security Council efforts to pressure Teheran over its enrichment program."

Looks like we have our old ally back.

Sarkozy Wins, Vows to Restore Pride in France

By John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 7, 2007; A01

PARIS, May 6 -- Nicolas Sarkozy, the combative son of a Hungarian immigrant, was elected president of France on Sunday, promising a new generation of leadership to transform the country, restore its self-respect and reinvigorate ties with the United States and Europe.

Sarkozy, a member of the ruling party and France's former top law enforcement officer, defeated Socialist Ségolène Royal, who waged a determined battle to become France's first elected female head of state, by a 53 percent to 47 percent vote, according to final results. Voter turnout was a near-record 84 percent.

In a victory speech before a jubilant crowd of supporters in Paris, Sarkozy said voters "have chosen to break with the habits and behavior of the past." He pledged "to give greater value to work, to authority, to respect, to merit."

"I want to give French people back the pride of being French -- to finish with repentance, which is a form of self-hate," he said, renouncing a pervasive national malaise fed by economic decline at home and sinking influence abroad.

An unabashed admirer of America, Sarkozy, 52, had a special message for the United States, which has had troubled relations with France under President Jacques Chirac, who led international opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq.

"I'd like to appeal to our American friends to say that they can count on our friendship," he said. "But I would also like to say that friendship means accepting that your friends don't necessarily see eye to eye with you."

In particular, he said, "a great nation like the United States has the duty not to oppose the fight against global warming, but to lead that battle, because what is at stake is the destiny of mankind." Sarkozy said he would make the issue a top international priority as president.

His election signals a shift to the right in French politics and could herald a major transition for French society. Sarkozy has promised to boost economic growth and employment by cutting taxes, reducing deficits, shrinking government and loosening labor laws -- the kind of free-market policies embraced by the United States and Britain, but long eschewed by French leaders.

In selecting the passionate, pragmatic and pugnacious Sarkozy, who is a lawyer by training, voters rejected Royal's prescription of continuing big spending programs to protect and expand France's vast social welfare state. more

So why is this important to us? Because France is our oldest ally and under the previous party's reign that relationship soured. The administration turned down France's offer to train Iraqi police in France and one has to wonder if it wasn't because of the tone in which the offer was made. Maybe we'll luck out and Sarkosky will extend it again. I wish him the best either way as the man definitely will have his hands full trying to solve unemployment, opening up their markets, and reducing illegal immigration. Sound Familiar?