Chirac says Iraq war boosting terrorism
(AFP) 5 January 2007
PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac, one of the fiercest opponents of the US-led war in Iraq, warned on Friday that the conflict has provided a dangerous new breeding ground for terrorism.
“As France had foreseen and feared, the war in Iraq has sparked upheavals that have yet to show their full effects,” Chirac said in a traditional New Year’s address to the French diplomatic corps.
“It offered terrorism a new field for expansion,” he said, in a broadside against a conflict which Washington still describes as part of the “war on terror” launched in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.
He said the war had “exacerbated the divisions between communities and threatened the very integrity of Iraq.”
“It undermined the stability of the entire region, where every country now fears for its security and its independence.”
“The priority, more than ever, is to restore full sovereignty to the Iraqi people,” Chirac told the assembly.
US President George W. Bush is due next week to announce a major overhaul in Washington’s strategy in Iraq, which is prey to raging sectarian bloodshed more than three years after the US invasion.
(AFP) 5 January 2007
PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac, one of the fiercest opponents of the US-led war in Iraq, warned on Friday that the conflict has provided a dangerous new breeding ground for terrorism.
“As France had foreseen and feared, the war in Iraq has sparked upheavals that have yet to show their full effects,” Chirac said in a traditional New Year’s address to the French diplomatic corps.
“It offered terrorism a new field for expansion,” he said, in a broadside against a conflict which Washington still describes as part of the “war on terror” launched in 2001 following the September 11 attacks.
He said the war had “exacerbated the divisions between communities and threatened the very integrity of Iraq.”
“It undermined the stability of the entire region, where every country now fears for its security and its independence.”
“The priority, more than ever, is to restore full sovereignty to the Iraqi people,” Chirac told the assembly.
US President George W. Bush is due next week to announce a major overhaul in Washington’s strategy in Iraq, which is prey to raging sectarian bloodshed more than three years after the US invasion.
The United States:
Helping Israelis to control the Middle East
and punishing Third World countries which do not surrender their sovereignty
(Hamed Atta, Al-Khaleej, 1/6/06)
George Bush after executing Saddam Hussain:
Relentless efforts to resurrect the 7th Century Shi'i-Sunni conflict
The goal: Divide and Rule
(Jalal Al-Rifa'i, Al-Dustour, 1/6/06)
George Bush announces a new strategy with Iran on his head(Baha Boukhari, Al-Ayyam, 1/6/07)
President Chirac Calls for International Conference to Help Establish the Palestinian State, and for Restoration of Full Sovereignty to Iraqis
PARIS, January 6, 2007 (WAFA)
President of the French Republic, Mr. Jacques Chirac called for the convention, through the Quartet, of an international conference of a new type which would allow an effective dynamic of negotiations to be set in train.
On his speech on the occasion of New Year's Greetings, President Chirac said that the Middle East has become the epicentre of international tension.
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict crystallises the resentment felt on all sides. It is therefore here that the inevitability of failure must be forestalled. We know what the outline of a settlement would be: two states living in peace and security. The roadmap accepted by all parties has marked out the path to that outcome. On each side there are representatives and they are once again talking to each other. What is still lacking is trust," Chirac said.
He added that this conflict fosters a sense of incomprehension and injustice throughout the Muslim world, as though "the new international order was built on double standards."
As for the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, Chirac pointed out that it has triggered upheavals whose effects have not yet ceased to unfold. "This adventure has exacerbated the divisions between communities and undermined the very integrity of Iraq. It has compromised the stability of the entire region, where every country is now concerned for its security. It has given terrorism a new field into which to expand. More than ever the priority must be to restore full sovereignty to the Iraqis."
Chirac concluded that It is the duty of the international community to institute the process that will enable that trust to be restored. Strengthened by its commitments on the ground, Europe is now in a position to act.
"Europe, because it has been capable of overcoming its historical rivalries, is a continent of peace and democracy today, a focus of stability and a model for the other great world regions."
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