Regrettably, Iraq is further than ever from meeting such democratic standards as Bush Jnr claimed his invasion would bring to the country. This position was backed by three-quarters of the French population and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Acting without the UN’s legitimacy, putting power before law, means taking on a heavy responsibility.” France appeals to the responsibility of all to respect international law. Īlas, for Iraq, the French did not carry the day, and on March 18, 2003, the very eve of the invasion began, Chirac warned: “Iraq does not represent an immediate threat that would justify an immediate war. The heavy responsibility and great honour that is ours must lead us to give priority to peaceful disarmament,” de Villepin said. “De Villepin’s address to an emotionally charged Security Council on February 14 was a vibrant challenge to the logic of war, and elicited rare applause from his audience…In this temple of United Nations, we are the guardians of an ideal, we are guardians of a conscience. He sent Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin to “do diplomatic battle at the United Nations. To his great credit, the late French leader, Jacques Chirac (who passed away in September 2019) would later strongly oppose the US-led invasion and refused to join the Coalition. This upright formal bearing and culturally sensitive conduct in public was also evident in his visit to Delhi, India, in 1974 meeting Indira Ghandi. Early footage is testimony to his gravitas and style. He did not admire or copy Stalin or Hitler as his foes have alleged. Saddam Hussein had also long declared his admiration for General de Gaulle and his style of leadership. She had become Iraq’s main trade and technology partner under Chirac’s leadership. Saddam Hussein had first travelled to France and met Georges Pompidou in 1972 for talks about the nationalisation of Iraq’s petrol.Ī friend to Iraq, France had enjoyed a 24% stake in Iraq’s oil production since the 1920s in competition with Britain. Chirac had also visited Baghdad the year before and France had also agreed to train 600 Iraqi nuclear technicians and scientists. An agreement for France to sell Iraq two French reactors had just been signed. Seated beside him was the French premier, Jacques Chirac. The tall, handsome young Arab man stretched his long legs from the stylish French settee then resumed decorum. Even circulating his image has become taboo. Today in Iraq, to speak well of Saddam Hussein is akin to a crime and can result in serious harm. Similarly, Western publications including books select dark unsmiling photographs to further emphasise their view. The Western media invariably prefaces references to Saddam Hussein with the sobriquets ‘dictator’ or ‘tyrant’. The Western public was encouraged to blame every ill act upon Saddam Hussein, conflating Iraq with one man and to lend their ears to his most entrenched enemies in order to bring him down. Iraq’s Vice President, Saddam Hussein, the passionate advocate of a secular socialist Iraq with ally, Jacques Chirac – red carpet treatment, Baghdad, 1976.
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