Miguel
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Chirac 'believes veto would not stop US'
Jon Henley in Paris
Wednesday March 5, 2003
The Guardian
France has concluded that there would be no point in using its UN security council veto to scupper a new resolution paving the way for war against Iraq, a usually well-informed newspaper will allege today.
The satirical and investigative weekly Le Canard enchainé, whose scoops are generally reliable, quotes the French president, Jacques Chirac, as telling "a small private gathering" on February 26 that a French veto would not stop his US counterpart, George Bush, from launching military action.
"France is doing everything it can, but the problem is that it is impossible to stop Bush from pursuing his logic of war to the end," the paper quotes Mr Chirac as saying, according to an advance copy.
It did not reveal its sources for the information.
The paper also quotes the foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, as privately telling a group of conservative MPs a day earlier that "using the right of veto would be shooting the Americans in the back" - a phrase used until now only by a small number of pro-American rebels in Mr Chirac's centre-right UMP party.
Mr Chirac has led international opposition to an early US-led strike against Baghdad, insisting that the UN weapons inspectors must be given more time to complete their work.
But many observers believe he realises he has painted himself into a corner and would welcome a way out - such as a strongly critical report on Iraqi cooperation from the inspectors.
The French president has repeatedly said Paris will oppose a second resolution that would in effect give the green light to war, but neither he nor any other French official has said whether France would consider using its veto - a step the US ambassador to Paris said last week would be con sidered "very unfriendly" by Washington.
At present Paris is counting on not having to make the veto decision since it believes Washington lacks a majority in the security council. One diplomatic source said yesterday that France currently had 10 or even 11 members of the 15-nation council on its side.
A small but increasingly vocal group of MPs from Mr Chirac's UMP party has begun urging him against using the veto, arguing that it could do serious and lasting damage to France's relations with the US and badly undermine the security council if Mr Bush - as appears likely - ignored it.
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Romans 9:11-24
Our Eschatology may vary even our Ecclesiology may be disputed among us but our Soteriology most assume a singularity and exclusivity which in biblical term is known as Quote; "The Narrow Way" and Quote!
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