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FRANCE gave Saddam Hussein's regime regular reports on its dealings with American officials, documents unearthed in the wreckage of the Iraqi foreign ministry have revealed.

The first Iraqi files to emerge documenting French help for the regime show that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington.

The information, said in the files to have come partly from "friends of Iraq" at the French foreign ministry, kept Saddam abreast of every development in American planning and may have helped him to prepare for war. One report warned of an American "attempt to involve Iraq with terrorism" as "cover for an attack on Iraq".

Another, dated September 25, 2001 from Naji Sabri, the Iraqi foreign minister, to Saddam's palace, was based on a briefing from the French ambassador in Baghdad and covered talks between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W Bush.

Chirac was said to have been told that America was "100% certain Osama Bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks and that the answer of the United States would be decisive".

The report also gave a detailed account of American attitudes towards Saddam amid anxiety in Iraq that the country might soon become a target of American reprisals.

"Information available to the French embassy in Washington suggests that there is no intention on the part of the Americans to attack Iraq, but that matters might change quickly," said the document from folders marked France 2001 found by The Sunday Times.

"According to French information, a discussion about Iraq is going on in Washington between [secretary of state] Colin Powell and the Zionist [Paul] Wolfowitz [the deputy defence secretary]. Powell was against a military attack on Iraq whereas Wolfowitz was in favour of a strong military operation against Iraq."

The report noted that "the Israelis have informed the French ambassador in Washington that they have no evidence of Iraqi involvement in the attacks".

An account of a meeting between Hubert Vedrine, the former Socialist foreign minister of France, and Powell after September 11 also made its way into the Baghdad archives. Powell was said to have disclosed that he would raise with Russia the subject of its "co-operation" with Iraq.

Powell, the report said, "is going to ask the Russian foreign minister how Russia could co-operate with a country that had expressed satisfaction at America being subjected to such attacks. He is going to ask for a new draft resolution from the United Nations security council on Iraq".

Bernard Jenkin, shadow defence secretary, said the briefings went beyond diplomatic courtesies and pointed to French "duplicitousness".

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I mean, that'll be the easiest won war in history.

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Originally posted by Biffster:
...women are the source of all evil.

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Posted by LanderZRPG (Member # 1615) on 04-28-2003, 11:03 AM:
 
Of course, these documents are found well after the whole 'war'.

This is just as bad as if the Americans _suddenly_ unearth WoMD in Iraq; it's about as credible as mud.

And, of course, the fact that the US has satellites that can watch your buttcrack's every move from space, but can't seem to see these meetings/documents/WoMD isn't odd at all.

Quoting Rick Mercer from "This Hour Has 22 Minutes"

"On behalf of Canadians everywhere I'd like to offer an apology to the United States of America

We haven't been getting along very well recently and for that, I am truly sorry.

I'm sorry we called George Bush a moron.

He is a moron but, it wasn't nice of us to point it out. If it's any consolation, the fact that he's a moron shouldn't reflect poorly on the people of American. After all, it's not like you actually elected him."

Some more about Hockey, Lumber and Beer....

"I'm sorry about our waffling on Iraq.

I mean, when you're going up against a crazed dictator, you want to have your friends by your side. I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different. Everyone knew he had weapons.

And finally on behalf of all Canadians, I'm sorry that we're constantly apologizing for things in a passive-aggressive way which is really a thinly veiled criticism. I sincerely hope that you're not upset over this.

We've seen what you do to countries you get upset with."


 

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Posted by Psybro (Member # 290) on 04-28-2003, 01:45 PM:
 
I normally don't like to side with the knee-jerking hysterical section of the left wing, but goddamn, this is total bullshit and almost certainly fabricated by the US government.
 

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Posted by Boodabonzi (Member # 2958) on 04-28-2003, 01:48 PM:
 
blah blah blah France's policies aren't a carbon copy of America's blah blah blah France are evil blah blah blah in fact any country who isn't 100% receptive to our every wish is evil blah blah blah empire building? Are you being unreceptive to our every wish? blah blah blah
 

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Posted by White Cat (Member # 42) on 04-28-2003, 11:20 PM:
 
"This information damages my position, so it must be fake!"

Quoting Rick Mercer from "This Hour Has 22 Minutes"

lol, Ned Landerz can't tell the difference betweeen Rick Mercer and Colin Mochrie.

(The latter is 10x funnier than the former.)
 

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Posted by Psybro (Member # 290) on 04-29-2003, 12:58 PM:
 

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Originally posted by White Cat:
"This information damages my position, so it must be fake!"

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