Richard Perle has essentially told the French to allez au diable. Needless to say the usual suspects are up in arms over this.
Yet at this point, there’s nothing particularly shocking about what Perle said. Based upon the rhetoric of the Administration, there is an obvious dislike of the anti-American obstructionism of the French government. Chirac may well believe that we’re suddenly going to welcome the French into the fold after their actions.
What Chirac fails to understand is that France has already burned too many diplomatic bridges. While criticizing US policy at every turn, they have been acting with the kind of braggadocio that they accuse us of. Indeed, the French foreign policy has been the very definition of hypocrisy all along. If they believe that such actions will be easily forgotten, they are tragically mistaken.
Both Chirac and Schroeder were narrowly elected only because they faced opponents who were even more reactionary and distasteful. The US clearly sees no utility in bending to the whims of such individuals, and is merely leaving the two of them to twist in the wind until they manage to get themselves thrown out of office – something that at least one of them is already well on their way to doing.
Perle states France is not the ally it once was. I question what kind of an ally it ever was. Apart from our help of France in World War II and their help of us i the Revolutionary War, the two nations have had a rocky relationship throughout history.
France does what it wants, and rarely wants the input or help of foreign nations. Since World War II it maintained its own nuclear deterrent, basically pumped most of its foreign aid into its former African colonies. The fact that it was able to broker a peace deal in Ivory Coast shows that still has influence within its traditional sphere.
Although apart from a relationship with Lebanon (which was mainly because it felt the need to protect Lebanon’s catholic population) it has shown little effectiveness or desire to get involved in the Middle East. I hope Paris does step aside on this one. The key to having a succesful foreign policy is knowing where you are wanted. Let Paris influence Dakar, Abidjan, Rabat, Tunis, and Kinshasa, where it has had past successes in influencing positive change.
But for the country that harbored Ayatollah Khomeini, and seems very complacent to placate its own massive Arab minority (hovering at 10% of the electorate), it is clear it has no business in dictating policy in this region