Summary: Former colonial power France is now scolding its economic rivals not to use American military power to create a neo-colonial bloc. And while it is easy to laugh at the site of Chirac, whose visage so perfectly embodies the corrupt republique francaise, he is still right about Iraq. It is an occupation built on State lies and willful ignorance on the part of the public. As British historian Felipe Fernandez- Armesto reminds us in GNN??s book True Lies:

??What was the reality of Iraq at the time of the start of the conflict? It was a very, very modest regional power, incapable of winning a war against any of its neighbors except Kuwait, which is a rather disproportionate conflict. A regional power, not to mention, that had been suffering a decade of economic recession, the central command of which had been eroded by devolution to the Kurdish autonomous region in the North which was barely able to control the restlessness of its own minorities, especially the Kurds and the Shia; which was in a state of? more approaching disintegration, which was ruled in an ad hoc fashion by a dictator with no real provision for the future or for succession. A state that had a notoriously inefficient armed forces, which had neither the resources nor the equipment to fight a significant war, which had weapons that were antiquated, virtually rusting away.

??And yet, you know, it could be convincingly sold to ignorant publics ?? the United States and Britain ?? as a major threat against world peace and a direct threat to the security of countries that are thousands of miles away, beyond the reach of its weapons and, indeed, beyond the reach of its agents. The consequence of that was a war, and that just attributes to the power of lies.?


Peace
Herbaholic00 Reviewed by Herbaholic00 on . Chirac Warns Britain of Modern Imperialism By Andrew Grice History will tell who was right on Iraq Jacques Chirac warned George Bush and Tony Blair yesterday that their plans to spread democracy around the world must not turn into a modern-day colonialism based on America??s military might. A week ago in Washington, President Bush and Mr Blair joined forces in a crusade to extend democratic and human rights to those countries that denied them. Yesterday, on a visit to London, the French President called for a ??strong Rating: 5