Chirac Addresses the UN
The United Nations has just weathered one of its most serious trials in its history: respect for the Charter, the use of force, were at the heart of the debate. The war, which was started without the authorization of the Security Council, has shaken the multilateral system.
Check out the transcript of the French President's speech.
Matt's Chat
No, Mr. President, what the UN just "weathered" was a coalition of nations (there are over twenty of them, so cut out the "unilaterism" crap) who had the courage to enforce UN resolutions when the UN itself was unwilling to do so. This was not a "pre-empitve action," this was a resumption of the previous conflict because the aggressor nation's (that's Iraq) government FAILED to meet it's obligations to the UN and to the world. Iraq will get full soverignty with US assistance. It is vital to the stability of the region that there be a constitution and elections for Iraq. That takes TIME. And it shouldn't be rushed just because France ("unilaterily" I might add) thinks it should only take weeks. Finally, the death of Sergio Vieira de Mello was the responsibility of the TERRORISTS, it wouldn't hurt for you to admit that Mr. President.Mark's Remarks
Contrary to what liberals are saying, with their so-called 7% theory and making barbs about quality vs. quantity (so much for anti-personal attacks and fairness), the numbers do not add up. At latest count, there were around 210,000 troops on the ground in Iraq. Of these, 116,000 are American. That leaves almost 100,000 troops of non-American origin in Iraq. (Source from sept 16, 2003 briefing) Also, the 7% solution does not count the 54,000 Iraqi security forces on the ground, nor the 14,000 in training.Now, on to Mr. Chirac. This man has been drinking too much wine and smelling too much cheese. The UN forced this trial on its own. It became an irrelevant institution when it decided not to enforce its own mandates. It did not live up to its word when they did not follow 17 resolutions pinning down Iraq. Mr. Chirac, you are upset because now Iraq well be open to the free market, and you and Mr. Schroeder will no longer be the exclusive suppliers of pipeline and other under the table materiel you supplied Saddam.
Of course, now that the heavy fighting is done, the French want to get things transferred out of US hands. Are they afraid we are going to find something about French assistance to Saddam? One of the main reasons they want this quick transfer of power is so the government can collapse into chaos and they can say "we told you so." That is the French way: if we didn't think of it, try to wreck it. And, they can never admit that they were wrong. They blame everything on us Americans. You know why, because we made democracy work, when they tried to revolt against kingdoms, they failed, until much later. They never forgave us for that, and they never will. Mr. Chirac is living in a dream world if he thinks that we can hand over power to people who just crawled out of the primordial ooze of a brutal regime and expect Iraq to flower. Of course not. He is trying to sabotage all we worked for, and he has help from our liberal friends here at home. Wonderful. Stay strong. Don't fall prey.
Palestinian Mission Opens in Japan, Bashes Bush
Waleed Siam, head of the Permanent General Mission of Palestine in Japan, said it was strange that the United States, while advocating democracy, could seek to undermine Arafat, who was elected democratically. "The Bush administration has, since the beginning, called for democracy in the Arab world. Unfortunately, what they have preached they don't teach," he told a news conference.
Get the full story from Reuters.
