When President Bush went to war against Iraq in 2003, the French were the fiercest opponents of the war in Iraq, which finally showed the real relations between France and the United States that has been going on for the past 5 decades. The French are not allies of the United States, but enemies of the United States. It all started in the Vietnam War when the French left Vietnam in 1954 to have American forces take over the border between the 17th parallel helping out South Vietnam. But tensions between North and South Vietnam continued to rise until Lyndon Johnson declared war against Vietnam in 1964 after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. French president, Charles de Gaulle, criticized the US for going to war against Vietnam and stated that the US should withdraw from Vietnam just as France did 10 years ago. First the French wanted the US to take over for them in Vietnam and now they're criticizing the US for the mess that France originally got into? The French obviously don't think that stabbing an ally in the back is a bad thing.
The next incident where the French betrayed the US was during the Iranian revolution of 1979. After Iraq kicked Ayatollah Khomeini out in 1978 and after Kuwait refused to allow the Ayatollah into their country, France welcomed him into their country with open arms. Ayatollah Khomeini was a major critic of the Shah in Iran for being a supporter of the US and Israel. The Ayatollah was able to mobilize exiled Iranians and Iranians in Iran who opposed the Shah to overthrow the Shah and replace him with an Islamic theocracy. The French did nothing to stop the Iranian exiles and the Ayatollah from overthrowing the Shah. In 1979, the Shah abdicated the throne and the Ayatollah was able to take over the country to create an Islamic government. Later in that same year, Muslim students took over the US embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. During the hostage crisis, the French didn't offer one single time to help out the US.
The French betrayed the US again in 1986 after Libyan terrorists bombed a discotech in West Berlin killing two American soldiers. The US wanted to use France's airspace to fly into Libya to bomb them for retaliation against the bombing in Berlin. But France refused to allow the US to fly over their country in order to bomb Libya, so the US had to fly over Great Britain adding more milegage and time in the air in order for retaliation. Libya had relations with the Soviet Union after Qadaffi gained power and the conflict between Libya and the US arose when the US bombed Soviet aircrafts that were flying over Libya in 1981. The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union was still going on and France was suppose to be an ally to the US throughout the Cold War, but it wasn't acting like an ally with France siding against the US in recent conflicts during that time.
Finally the American public had enough of France's backstabbing actions when President Bush asked the UN Security Council to back a war that would remove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. The French government was profiting from the Oil-for-Food program that the UN established in order to ease suffering among the Iraqi people by allowing Saddam Hussein to sell oil in order to buy food and medicine for his people. Along with Jacques Chirac having continuous relations with Saddam Hussein since 1974 and calling for an end to UN sanctions in Iraq that began in 1991 after the Persian Gulf War.
A quote from John Kerry on nuclear policy with Iran during the first 2004 Presidential debate:
[b]KERRY: With respect to Iran, the British, French, and Germans were the ones who initiated an effort without the United States, regrettably, to begin to try to move to curb the nuclear possibilities in Iran. I believe we could have done better. I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes. If they weren't willing to work a deal, then we could have put sanctions together. The president did nothing.[/b]
So John Kerry thinks that the US should've given nuclear material to Iran to determine whether or not they could be trusted with it? Hello, if you're not sure that you can trust a country with nuclear material, then don't give it to them in the first place.
The news has been reporting some stories that the US might attack Iran next but so far nothing has happened yet. It won't be surprising to see France venomously oppose the US if the US does go to war against Iran in the future. The French have had deals with the Iranian regime in giving them nuclear materials as well as buying oil from Iran now that Saddam Hussein can't give oil to France anymore. The French have been acting more like an enemy rather than an ally to the US for the past 50 years. President Bush should keep an eye on Jacques Chirac and not share anymore intelligence or nuclear secrets with the French since they have provent to be untrustworthy.
http://www.vietnamwar.com/WarHistory.htm
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1964degaulle-vietnam.html
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/el_dorado_canyon.htm
http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/15/134858.shtml
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2618260
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2004/11/16/5B6B8B9F-0379-4E4A-9ED8-3F54D282CA4A.html
http://www.worldthreats.com/general_information/Oil%20For%20Food%20Worse%20Than%20Thought.htm
http://www.usainreview.com/2_11_Chirac_Connection.htm
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html
The next incident where the French betrayed the US was during the Iranian revolution of 1979. After Iraq kicked Ayatollah Khomeini out in 1978 and after Kuwait refused to allow the Ayatollah into their country, France welcomed him into their country with open arms. Ayatollah Khomeini was a major critic of the Shah in Iran for being a supporter of the US and Israel. The Ayatollah was able to mobilize exiled Iranians and Iranians in Iran who opposed the Shah to overthrow the Shah and replace him with an Islamic theocracy. The French did nothing to stop the Iranian exiles and the Ayatollah from overthrowing the Shah. In 1979, the Shah abdicated the throne and the Ayatollah was able to take over the country to create an Islamic government. Later in that same year, Muslim students took over the US embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. During the hostage crisis, the French didn't offer one single time to help out the US.
The French betrayed the US again in 1986 after Libyan terrorists bombed a discotech in West Berlin killing two American soldiers. The US wanted to use France's airspace to fly into Libya to bomb them for retaliation against the bombing in Berlin. But France refused to allow the US to fly over their country in order to bomb Libya, so the US had to fly over Great Britain adding more milegage and time in the air in order for retaliation. Libya had relations with the Soviet Union after Qadaffi gained power and the conflict between Libya and the US arose when the US bombed Soviet aircrafts that were flying over Libya in 1981. The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union was still going on and France was suppose to be an ally to the US throughout the Cold War, but it wasn't acting like an ally with France siding against the US in recent conflicts during that time.
Finally the American public had enough of France's backstabbing actions when President Bush asked the UN Security Council to back a war that would remove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. The French government was profiting from the Oil-for-Food program that the UN established in order to ease suffering among the Iraqi people by allowing Saddam Hussein to sell oil in order to buy food and medicine for his people. Along with Jacques Chirac having continuous relations with Saddam Hussein since 1974 and calling for an end to UN sanctions in Iraq that began in 1991 after the Persian Gulf War.
A quote from John Kerry on nuclear policy with Iran during the first 2004 Presidential debate:
[b]KERRY: With respect to Iran, the British, French, and Germans were the ones who initiated an effort without the United States, regrettably, to begin to try to move to curb the nuclear possibilities in Iran. I believe we could have done better. I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes. If they weren't willing to work a deal, then we could have put sanctions together. The president did nothing.[/b]
So John Kerry thinks that the US should've given nuclear material to Iran to determine whether or not they could be trusted with it? Hello, if you're not sure that you can trust a country with nuclear material, then don't give it to them in the first place.
The news has been reporting some stories that the US might attack Iran next but so far nothing has happened yet. It won't be surprising to see France venomously oppose the US if the US does go to war against Iran in the future. The French have had deals with the Iranian regime in giving them nuclear materials as well as buying oil from Iran now that Saddam Hussein can't give oil to France anymore. The French have been acting more like an enemy rather than an ally to the US for the past 50 years. President Bush should keep an eye on Jacques Chirac and not share anymore intelligence or nuclear secrets with the French since they have provent to be untrustworthy.
http://www.vietnamwar.com/WarHistory.htm
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1964degaulle-vietnam.html
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/el_dorado_canyon.htm
http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/15/134858.shtml
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2618260
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2004/11/16/5B6B8B9F-0379-4E4A-9ED8-3F54D282CA4A.html
http://www.worldthreats.com/general_information/Oil%20For%20Food%20Worse%20Than%20Thought.htm
http://www.usainreview.com/2_11_Chirac_Connection.htm
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html
