[A-List] US imperialism: coalition of the billing

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Ministers declare open season on French

Cross-channel relations at new low while US turns on Russia

Jon Henley in Paris, Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow, Ewen MacAskill and Michael
White
Thursday March 13, 2003
The Guardian

The British government declared open season on France yesterday in
retaliation for its threat to veto the proposed UN resolution on Iraq.

Tony Blair, after weeks of restraint, openly criticised France in the
Commons, as did other ministers. Officials have been told they have been
freed by "the highest authority" to lay into the French.

Relations have not been so bad since De Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry to the
common market in 1963.

In Moscow, the US ambassador threatened the withdrawal of US support to
Russia in several important areas. Russia has threatened to abstain or join
France in using its security council veto.

At prime minister's question time, Mr Blair, whose aides have repeatedly
ducked invitations to condemn French conduct, allowed himself a show of
irritation with the French president, Jacques Chirac, when he said he was
working "flat out" to achieve a UN solution "on the basis of a compromise".

That goal was "complicated when one nation is saying that, whatever the
circumstances, it will veto a second resolution" - a clear dig at Mr
Chirac's TV appearance on Monday night.

The British government view is that France signed up to the previous Iraq
resolution, 1441, last year, but every French action since has undercut
attempts to put pressure on Iraq.

Last night, Mr Blair was dining privately with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder,
but Whitehall sees Germany's political plight and its virtual pacificism
since 1945 in a very different light.

There was no official French reaction to Mr Blair's comments, but the size
of his difficulties did not escape the attention of the French press.

"Bush's war destabilises Tony Blair" was Le Monde's front page headline,
above a cartoon of a heavily armed GI telling a naked and vulnerable-looking
Mr Blair: "You're a nice guy, Tony, but maybe I'll do the job without you."

In Paris's view the real threat to the UN is not its veto but Washington and
London's insistence on a dangerous war they have failed to convince the
world and the security council is necessary or justified.

A French foreign ministry spokesman said its position was "perfectly clear
and consistent, and has been since the very start of all this.

"First, the inspectors are progressing and must be allowed to do their job.
Second, it must be they, and no one else, who decides when they have
finished or been prevented from doing so.

"That means, third, we cannot accept an ultimatum that would cut short their
work and give the green light to war."

The US ambassador to Paris, Howard Leach, has given no newspaper interviews
and has made only one brief television appearance, in English, in which he
contented himself with saying that Washington would consider a French veto a
"very unfriendly gesture".

Analysts say it is difficult to see what direct economic sanctions the US
could impose on France: consumer boycotts of wine, cheese and the like would
have a limited effect, and official trade sanctions are unlikely because
they would have to embrace the EU and thus risk hurting such "loyal"
partners as Britain and Spain.

US corporate investment in France might tail off, as might American tourist
dollars, and defence and aerospace companies dealing directly with the Bush
administration would clearly suffer. But Washington cannot wave the carrot
of development aid, debt write-offs or investment in infrastructure and
industry, as it can in Russia.

The US ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Vershbow, urged Russia to "heavily
weigh all the consequences" of using its veto. He said it could be cut out
of rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and oilfields.

US investment in energy and joint work on security, terrorism, the
international space station, and building an anti-ballistic missile system
would be at risk, and he pointed out that Russia's relationship with Nato
was only just beginning.