From the English language service of the Deutsche Welle:
During a state visit to China, French Premier Raffarin threw support behind a law allowing China to attack Taiwan and continued to push for a lift of the EU arms embargo.
So let me get this straight. The French didn't support action against Iraq, a murderous regime that supported Palestinian suicide bombers, terrorized its own people, launched two wars of aggression against neighboring states, sought weapons of mass destruction, violated its cease fire agreement from Gulf War I, and ignored several UN resolutions, but they do support unilateral Chinese aggression against a de facto sovereign democratic country that attacks and harms no one.
But wait, there's more--and it's not Ginsu knives.
At the same time, he vowed that his government would continue to push for the lifting of what he called the "anachronistic" and "discriminatory" arms embargo against China. The embargo contradicts the current "strategic partnership" between the EU and China, he added.
Anything for a customer, I guess. The French government has absolutely no moral compass at all.
I have nothing against France and usually think they aren't as bad as we make them look, but they are just wrong in this situation. Not supporting a war that you have no real connection to is one thing, but supporting the oppression of a blossoming democracy is just wrong no matter how you look at it. France should learn when to pick their battles, because it looks like their priorities just don’t match that of the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteI was in China in 2002.
ReplyDelete"blossoming democracy?"
Huh? Blossoming capitalistic economy, but they still have a lousy human right's records. Remember that jet bumping into our spy plane?
"France should learn when to pick their battles, because it looks like their priorities just don’t match that of the rest of the world."
The same could be said of the U.S.
If you read it again, I think he's referring to Taiwan as the blossoming democracy.
ReplyDelete"The French didn't support action against Iraq,"
ReplyDeleteMost countries did not.
Most Americans do not (if the latest polls are to be believed).
Most members of the coalition of the willing did not send troops or sent a token force.
Many countries that did support US Aggression Iraq no longer do so (Italy, Ukrane, Spain, Poland)
Why Pick on France?
Is it because in the era of political correctness they represent a group that it is politically safe to bash?
Food for thought.
Oh no. I've been a French basher since before it was cool to be one.
ReplyDelete"Oh no. I've been a French basher since before it was cool to be one."
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Personal Experience?
What?
ReplyDeleteNo reason?
Just blind hate then?
Hmm...
Why do people think that it is ok to say "i hate the french"? Antifrench sentiment is publicly accepted in the US but you couldn't say " i hate the Jews" or "I hate the Japanese". Why is anti-French sentiment ok? The fact that most people (including you Mr. Miller) have no good reason to hate the French makes it even more ridiculous. They have not attacked your homeland in over one hundred years, there is no logical reason for all this antiFrench feeling. Accept the French, there's absolutely no reason for such ignorant dislike of them.
ReplyDeleteThe only French people I've dealt with were in Paris, and I've heard Paris is a hotbed of anti-Americanism as well as snootiness. That certainly jibes well with my experiences there. I've also heard that the further you get from Paris, the "nicer" the people are.
ReplyDeleteMy dislike for the French comes more from their politics, though. No US bases in France to support NATO. No overflight of France on the bombing raid to Libya in '86. Socialist to the core, resulting in 15000 deaths in 2 weeks from a freakin' heat wave. FIFTEEN THOUSAND, just a couple summers ago, from socialism. Ugh.
Honestly, what have the French done right? Their lack of support for our latest Iraq venture was no doubt influenced by all their under-the-table dealings with Saddam, which they wanted to protect for a buck (or a euro). Theirs is an openly anti-semitic country--so while we don't openly "hate the jews" in this country, it's done so openly in France.
I could go on, but you get my point. I don't choose a random people and heap scorn on them for no good reason. The French, through their government, have earned my scorn. Some would say that we have earned theirs, too. So what. I don't care what they think of me or us. I pretty much doubt they care what I think of them, either. The only people stressed that I have disdain for the French are Katherine and Mother Was A Hamster, only one of whom I know well enough to have any respect for (so far). But we're still gonna disagree on this one.
"I pretty much doubt they care what I think of them, either."
ReplyDeleteDarren,
I don't think I would be able to make you change your mind, so this is just to let you know that we do care about what you Americans think. And French bashing makes us sad, eventually. But perhaps, knowing this rejoices you...