French "diplomacy"
Amir Taheri:
...
"France’s passionate campaign to keep Saddam in power won no plaudits from the Arabs.
"Many Arab leaders regard France as a maverick power that could get them involved in an unnecessary, and ultimately self-defeating, conflict with the United States.
“ 'I cannot imagine what Chirac was thinking,' says a senior Saudi official on condition of anonymity. 'How could he expect us to join him in preventing the Americans from solving our biggest problem which was the presence of Saddam Hussein in power in Baghdad?'
"Another senior Arab diplomat, from Egypt, echoes the sentiment.
“ 'The French did not understand that the Arabs desired the end of Saddam, although they had to pretend that this was not the case,' he says."
Amir Taheri:
...
"France’s passionate campaign to keep Saddam in power won no plaudits from the Arabs.
"Many Arab leaders regard France as a maverick power that could get them involved in an unnecessary, and ultimately self-defeating, conflict with the United States.
“ 'I cannot imagine what Chirac was thinking,' says a senior Saudi official on condition of anonymity. 'How could he expect us to join him in preventing the Americans from solving our biggest problem which was the presence of Saddam Hussein in power in Baghdad?'
"Another senior Arab diplomat, from Egypt, echoes the sentiment.
“ 'The French did not understand that the Arabs desired the end of Saddam, although they had to pretend that this was not the case,' he says."
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