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France's Kouchner Blusters On Afghan War, Iran
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rwro-@yahoo.com
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Nov 04, 2009 11:42 PST
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/world/europe/05france.html
New York Times
November 4, 2009
Kouchner Urges Stronger Afghan Role for Europe=20
-=E2=80=9CKarzai is corrupt, O.K.,=E2=80=9D Mr. Kouchner said, but corrupti=
on is endemic in Afghanistan and =E2=80=9Che is our guy,=E2=80=9D despite b=
eing weakened by the recent election marked by fraud. =E2=80=9CWe have to l=
egitimize him=E2=80=9D if NATO has any chance to consolidate Afghanistan...=
."=20
PARIS: Europe should take the opportunity of a new Afghan administration to=
coordinate its policies on Afghanistan and not wait for Washington to make=
all the decisions, the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said on =
Wednesday.
=E2=80=9CWe need to speak as Europe to the Americans=E2=80=9D on Afghanista=
n, he said, and end the differences in policy and military rules on the gro=
und, where the Germans fight only if fired upon and each member of NATO has=
different rules of engagement. =E2=80=9CIn Europe we are acting and fighti=
ng and going to war, but we are not talking to one another, and it=E2=80=99=
s shameful,=E2=80=9D he said.=20
=E2=80=9CWe have to be together and improve the command structure,=E2=80=9D=
he said. Asked if the NATO alliance was not working very well in Afghanist=
an, he said: =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not working at all.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CWhat is the goal? What is the road? And in the name of what?=E2=80=
=9D Mr. Kouchner asked. He said he appreciated President Obama=E2=80=99s de=
liberations on a new Afghan strategy, but asked: =E2=80=9CWhere are the Ame=
ricans? It begins to be a problem.=E2=80=9D He added: =E2=80=9CWe need to t=
alk to one another as allies.=E2=80=9D
Mr. Kouchner spoke, in French and English, with a small group of foreign jo=
urnalists from NATO countries at the Quai d=E2=80=99Orsay, the French forei=
gn ministry.
He said that the NATO alliance had to get behind President Hamid Karzai des=
pite his well documented problems with corruption and questionable politica=
l allies. =E2=80=9CKarzai is corrupt, O.K.,=E2=80=9D Mr. Kouchner said, but=
corruption is endemic in Afghanistan and =E2=80=9Che is our guy,=E2=80=9D =
despite being weakened by the recent election marked by fraud. =E2=80=9CWe =
have to legitimize him=E2=80=9D if NATO has any chance to consolidate Afgha=
nistan and then leave it, Mr. Kouchner said.=20
Western political experts who know nothing about Afghanistan detected fraud=
by sampling ballots, Mr. Kouchner said. =E2=80=9CThis is science. But poli=
tics is not science. It=E2=80=99s the common touch.=E2=80=9D
He said France had given Mr. Karzai a nine-point agenda for governmental re=
form and was urging the defeated candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, to at least =
work with Mr. Karzai.
As for the war, he said it was impossible to occupy Afghanistan or defeat t=
he Taliban in the mountains, and that NATO should not look for a military v=
ictory but instead consolidate and secure selected populated areas. =E2=80=
=9CIt=E2=80=99s a Pashtun war,=E2=80=9D he said, =E2=80=9Cand to be effecti=
ve, you must do it close to the Afghan people and not against them.=E2=80=
=9D
On Iran, Mr. Kouchner said that the violence of demonstrations on Wednesday=
was very important, another sign that the Iranians =E2=80=9Care losing tim=
e, not gaining time=E2=80=9D by their refusal to deal seriously with the Se=
curity Council and the West on the issue of nuclear enrichment.=20
He said that there would be no discussion of new Security Council sanctions=
against Iran until the end of the year at the request of Washington. =E2=
=80=9COur American friends ask us to wait until the end of the year,=E2=80=
=9D he said. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not us.=E2=80=9D The Obama administratio=
n wants to see if Iran will respond to an offer of negotiations, Mr. Kouchn=
er said. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re waiting for talks, but where are the talks?=
=E2=80=9D
....
The confusion in Tehran was on full display at the the Geneva and Vienna me=
etings, where Iran at first agreed in principle and later rejected a propos=
al to hand over most of its lightly enriched uranium to Russia for processi=
ng into nuclear fuel for a medical reactor, Mr. Kouchner said. =E2=80=9CIt =
was a trap for us, and it=E2=80=99s one trap after another with them.=E2=80=
=9D
In the meantime, he said, under current sanctions, Germany should stop its =
companies from signing contracts with Iran, as France and Britain have done=
.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/04/world/international-uk-france-ira=
n.html
Reuters
November 4, 2009
France Says Worried By "Dangerous" Iran Situation=20
PARIS: The situation in Iran is dangerous and France is worried by a police=
crackdown against opposition demonstrators in Tehran, French Foreign Minis=
ter Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday.
Kouchner also told reporters that major powers were still waiting for a res=
ponse from Tehran over their offers to enrich Iranian uranium, but said it =
would be up to the United States to decide when to set a deadline for any a=
response.
"None of this bodes well. I hope that I am wrong, but a government that rep=
resses its people at home and refuses dialogue abroad does not bode well," =
Kouchner said.
"The situation is dangerous in a Middle East which is dangerous," he said.
....
Iran said earlier this week that it wanted more discussions over a U.N.-dra=
fted nuclear deal for it to export its uranium abroad for processing, but K=
oucnher said the powers were still awaiting a formal response.
"They are not answering us. What are we expected to do. Wait? Yes, we are w=
aiting, but not until the end of the world," Kouchner said, speaking in Eng=
lish.
France has previously said Iran should have until the end of the year to re=
spond to concerns or else face new sanctions.
However, Kouchner said there was no fixed deadline.
"It depends on our American friends, mainly, because they started this new =
step in political talks. They wanted to develop direct talks with the Irani=
ans and we are highly supportive of our American friends," he said.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by James Mackenzie)
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=3D=3D
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