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CounterPunch
February
14, 2003
A Warning on Iraq from France
Make War the
Last Option
By JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE
French Ambassador to the United States
Reading the papers from both sides of the Atlantic,
I sometimes wonder whether the impending war is not between France
and the United States. I would like to strongly reaffirm what,
in the heart of the French people, is a longstanding reality:
the friendship between France and America began in the early
days of your fight for independence and has endured throughout
the centuries.
America rescued my country twice in the
last century--something we will never forget. Today we stand
side by side in many parts of the world, including Afghanistan.
France is the largest contributor of troops to NATO operations.
Our friendship is a treasure, and it must be maintained, protected,
enhanced.
However, the polls are clear: 78 percent
of French people oppose a military intervention in Iraq. Polls
are similar in most other countries, including in Eastern Europe.
European governments may be divided over the use of force in
Iraq, but public opinion is united.
There are, in my view, three reasons
the mood is so cautious. The first relates to our assessment
of what is far and away the biggest threat to world peace and
stability: Al Qaeda.
French intelligence is clear that not
since the Algerian war 40 years ago has my country been under
such an immediate threat. Last May, 11 French citizens were killed
in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan. In the fall a French
tanker was attacked by Al Qaeda off Yemen. And in December, near
Paris, we arrested several suspects who were suspected of close
links to Al Qaeda and of planning terrorist attacks in France.
Terrorist suspects have also been arrested
elsewhere in Europe--in Britain, Spain and Italy--belonging to
groups connected with networks active in Afghanistan, Chechnya,
Algeria and Bosnia. Yet we haven't seen any evidence of a direct
link between the Iraqi regime and Al Qaeda.
A second reason for the reluctance of
the French people is that Iraq is not viewed as an immediate
threat. Thanks to the determination of President Bush and the
international community--and to the inspections that destroyed
more armaments between 1991 and 1998 than did the Persian Gulf
war itself, and which have now been reinforced with stronger
means and bigger teams--Saddam Hussein is in a box. And the box
has been closed with the inspectors in it.
Europeans consider North Korea a greater
threat. Imagine what a sense of security we all would feel if,
as in Iraq, 100 inspectors were proceeding with unimpeded inspections
throughout North Korea, including the president's palaces.
A third reason for the cautious mood
relates to the consequences of a war in Iraq. We see Iraq as
a very complex country, with many different ethnic groups, a
tradition of violence and no experience of democracy. You can't
create democracy with bombs--in Iraq, it would require time,
a strong presence and a strong committment.
We also worry about the region--considering
that no peace process is at work for the moment in the Middle
East, that none of the great powers seem able to foster one,
and that a war in Iraq could result in more frustration and bitterness
in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
People in France and more broadly in
Europe fear that a military intervention could fuel extremism
and encourage Qaeda recruitment. A war could weaken the indispensable
international coalition against terrorism and worsen the threat
of Islamic terrorism.
The inspections should be pursued and
strengthened, and Saddam Hussein must be made to cooperate actively.
War must remain the very last option.
Jean-David Levitte is French ambassador to the United States.
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