The limb on which the French have crawled out in the Security Council is growing more precarious daily. Their standing in the U.N. is eroding as the United States presses its case with the other members of the Security Council.
The French have pledged not to supply any troops to aid in the liberation of Iraq and have threatened to veto any Security Council resolution that would authorize any use of force to accomplish that mission.
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As for the French sending troops, we should get them to promise that they will not in the light of the French army's record after Napoleon. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf has already made the rather astute observation that "going to war without the French is like going deer hunting without your accordion." But the irony of his comment seems to be lost on Dominique de Villepin.
He spent the past week traveling across Africa in hopes of convincing Cameroon, Guinea and Angola that they'd be much better off backing the French than Uncle Sam. The leaders of these tiny countries are surprised to find themselves at the center of global attention. They are now faced with deciding if they want to earn the undying gratitude of Paris and the enmity of Washington or vice versa.
To these small countries that are inexperienced in the intrigue of international politics, I offer this suggestion: Jump on the Internet and go to the Google search website. Type in the keywords "French military victories" – then hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.
When they find no victorious French military campaigns in over a century, they may think twice before throwing their future in with France rather than America. In this perilous world, who are they going to trust when they need rescuing from some tyrant?
One of the reasons behind the shortage of Web documents outlining French military victories might be their impeccable sense of timing. Jacques Chirac has been looking for a cause around which to build an anti-U.S. coalition to counter-balance American preeminence on the world stage.
Of all the diplomatic and military blunders committed by the United States in the past 10 years – especially those of the Clinton administration that directly led to the confrontations we now face with al-Qaida and North Korea – they waited until now to pick their fight with Washington. And whom do they choose to champion? Saddam Hussein. Now that's strategic planning!
Of course, there is more to it than that. Chirac is not too happy with the prospect of America coming into possession of Saddam Hussein's weapons-procurement files. Many will read, "Made in France." It is fascinating to see that France's chief partners in their veto quest are Russia and China – and it is primarily for the same reason.
While we already know from press reports that France has been refitting and supplying Saddam's French Mirage jets in violation of U.N. sanctions for the past 12 years, it is another thing to risk having those records laid out in a post-Saddam Security Council briefing when they start complaining that they were shut out of the lucrative contracts that will come with Iraq's reconstruction.
The French have never really come to grips with their own history. They could become a great nation. They have the resources and international power. (Although they obtained it gratis, rather than getting it the old fashioned way by earning it).
Unfortunately, the diplomatic strategists in Paris now seeking to control the world by veto think they are already ruling. But, alas, they are about to get a rude awakening. They may have forgotten how they "earned" their Security Council veto, but we haven't. They got it by quickly surrendering at the outbreak of World War II; then by collaborating with Germany until the Vichy government was overthrown by the invasion of Europe in 1944; and then switching sides when all the Germans were driven out.
By contrast, the British and Americans earned their veto power at the U.N. by virtue of the sacrifices they made liberating these ungrateful Gauls.
The French seem to think that this is their time to make a power play. Well, maybe for them it is. Let those appeasers who side with France go get their accordions. But as for me, I'm cleaning my deer rifle.