Washington Times
No cheesy surrender for the Americans
by Wesley Pruden
September 8, 2006
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has said there is no such thing as a War on Terror
The only flaw in France, a wise man once said, is the people who live there. This is harsh, and unkind to hundreds, maybe thousands of nice Frenchmen, but the men elected to govern France invariably succeed in living up to Marianne's speckled reputation.
President Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, set out yesterday to do what they could for Marianne and her reputation, and to reassure each other that France is, too, still consequential in the affairs of the world.
M. de Villepin, fearful of the Muslims looking over his shoulder to monitor his speech, gestures and behavior on behalf of Allah, told his parliament that there's no such thing as a "war on terror."
"Let us not forget that these crises play into the hands of all extremists," he said. "We can see this with terrorism, whether it tries to strike inside or outside our frontiers. Against terrorism, what's needed is not a war."
Every time we think we've been too hard on France, ordering only wines from the Napa Valley, dissing french fries and swearing off creme brulee, our froggie friends insist on living up to their reputation. M. de Villepin didn't have to tell us that France thinks "what's needed is not a war." We knew that. France never thinks war is necessary, as the men who sleep in the American and British cemeteries on the bluff overlooking the Normandy beaches learned six decades ago.
washingtontimes.com . . .
No cheesy surrender for the Americans
by Wesley Pruden
September 8, 2006
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has said there is no such thing as a War on Terror
The only flaw in France, a wise man once said, is the people who live there. This is harsh, and unkind to hundreds, maybe thousands of nice Frenchmen, but the men elected to govern France invariably succeed in living up to Marianne's speckled reputation.
President Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, set out yesterday to do what they could for Marianne and her reputation, and to reassure each other that France is, too, still consequential in the affairs of the world.
M. de Villepin, fearful of the Muslims looking over his shoulder to monitor his speech, gestures and behavior on behalf of Allah, told his parliament that there's no such thing as a "war on terror."
"Let us not forget that these crises play into the hands of all extremists," he said. "We can see this with terrorism, whether it tries to strike inside or outside our frontiers. Against terrorism, what's needed is not a war."
Every time we think we've been too hard on France, ordering only wines from the Napa Valley, dissing french fries and swearing off creme brulee, our froggie friends insist on living up to their reputation. M. de Villepin didn't have to tell us that France thinks "what's needed is not a war." We knew that. France never thinks war is necessary, as the men who sleep in the American and British cemeteries on the bluff overlooking the Normandy beaches learned six decades ago.
washingtontimes.com . . .