25 Mar 2003 04:04 GMT - (Coalition forces are 80 km south of Baghdad)

Why the French are being Troublesome - Some Guesses

In response to the suggestion of a UN mandate to authorize the US and Britain to temporarily govern Iraq after the end of hostilities, French President Chirac announced that "Paris would not allow such a measure to pass in the Security Council." ("U.S. says it sees U.N. in humanitarian role", Washington Times, 22 Mar 2003.)

Bush and Blair decided not to take orders from the French when they attacked Iraq, and there is no chance whatever that they'll do so afterwards. The US and Britain have veto power on the Security Council, so they can legally ignore the UN as well.

If the French have no power to compel the United States and Britain, then why are they wasting their breath? A quick guess is that the French are seeking to make the Coalition's attack on Iraq appear as illegitimate as possible. They were certainly trying to do so before the attack, but a honest concern for the affairs of Iraq and of the Middle East should move them to assist in Iraq's reconstruction; not to oppose the countries that have promised to do the job.

So, now, a second guess: The conquest and reconstruction of Iraq will reveal far more than is already known of the French participation in Iraq's weapons programs ("A Vile Business", Wall Street Journal, 24 Mar 2003.- subscription req'd.). Beyond merely supplying Saddam Hussein with parts for his chemical and biological hell factories, the French will be found to have designed and built in Iraq the largest such production plants ever, in violation of the Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 687. By opposing the Coalition at every turn, France can give herself a little more time to cover her part in the biggest engineering war crimes since the construction of the German death camps.

- Andrew Hadley

© 2003 Halway Systems

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