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I stumbled across this via Spotlight on Military News.
I found a couple of the comments by Dominique de Villepin, Poet, Past Prime Minister of France and Defender of Saddam, fascinating.
First Quote : "Not only is the return of France into NATO ('s integrated command structure, it doesn't correspond to the interests of France, but as well I believe that it is dangerous."
Second Quote : "it results in the risk of being reduced (emphasis added) to the Western Family (of nations presumably)."
Third Quote : "We would lose the room to manoeuvre, the margins of independence" and "the opportunity to act unilaterally (emphasis added) without being dragooned into a group".
So M. Villepin sees his France as not being of the West but a Free Agent that is willing to act unilaterally in its own best interests. An interesting point of view from a country that is nuclear armed, has a military force capable of foreign adventures and has a recent history of occupation and foreign intervention.
Not that I think that that is necessarily a bad thing. Nor do I fault l'honourable Monsieur for being a two faced advocate for his national interests while accusing the US, acting in concert with over 40 other nations of acting unilaterally. However I am ecstatic to discover the rules of the game as interpreted by the Coterie Chirac.
I found a couple of the comments by Dominique de Villepin, Poet, Past Prime Minister of France and Defender of Saddam, fascinating.
First Quote : "Not only is the return of France into NATO ('s integrated command structure, it doesn't correspond to the interests of France, but as well I believe that it is dangerous."
Second Quote : "it results in the risk of being reduced (emphasis added) to the Western Family (of nations presumably)."
Third Quote : "We would lose the room to manoeuvre, the margins of independence" and "the opportunity to act unilaterally (emphasis added) without being dragooned into a group".
So M. Villepin sees his France as not being of the West but a Free Agent that is willing to act unilaterally in its own best interests. An interesting point of view from a country that is nuclear armed, has a military force capable of foreign adventures and has a recent history of occupation and foreign intervention.
Not that I think that that is necessarily a bad thing. Nor do I fault l'honourable Monsieur for being a two faced advocate for his national interests while accusing the US, acting in concert with over 40 other nations of acting unilaterally. However I am ecstatic to discover the rules of the game as interpreted by the Coterie Chirac.
Monde / Europe
The Associated Press - 04/06/08 à PM - 247 mots
Monde
Le retour de la France dans l'OTAN serait "dangereux" selon Dominique de Villepin
"Non seulement le retour de la France dans l'OTAN n'est pas utile, ne correspond pas aux intérêts de la France, mais je crois aussi que c'est dangereux", a déclaré dimanche l'ancien Premier ministre Dominique de Villepin sur Canal+.
Le retour de la France dans le commandement intégré de l'Alliance, envisagé par Nicolas Sarkozy, c'est "prendre le risque d'être réduit à la famille occidentale", a-t-il estimé. "Nous perdrions des marges de manoeuvre, des marges d'indépendance" et "une possibilité d'agir seul, sans être embrigadé dans un ensemble".
"Je crains la logique de bloc à bloc" et "je ne crois donc pas utile de rentrer à nouveau dans l'OTAN de façon pleine et entière", a-t-il dit.
Interrogé sur l'envoi de troupes françaises supplémentaires en Afghanistan, Dominique de Villepin a souligné la nécessité d'avoir une "stratégie politique" dans ce pays et ce "dans la durée". "Cette stratégie politique, elle manque cruellement en Afghanistan", a-t-il déploré.
"Maintenir et augmenter ses troupes -de façon d'ailleurs fort limitée- ce n'est pas à mon sens la meilleure façon de sortir l'Afghanistan de la situation difficile dans laquelle il est. Et le risque d'enlisement est par contre extrêmement important", a-t-il estimé. "Ne nous engageons pas dans des aventures militaires qui sont dépourvues de véritables stratégies globales". AP
co/sb