Duck Season

Counterpunch.org has posted the english translation of an "essay originally published in Le Monde newspaper" by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, so let's have a look:

Far be it from us to play down the scale of the task and its complexity, or to maintain the illusion that it's an easy one. But we have one conviction: by continuing on the current path we run the risk of entering a spiral from which there is no exit. Time is short. In the wake of the war, the direct administration of Iraq by coalition forces has aroused, despite sustained efforts, a persistent malaise among the population. This has delayed still further the restoration of essential public services, the rebuilding of infrastructures.

Of course all of these claims are directly disputed by a Gallup poll which reports 67% of Iraqis believe Iraq will be better off in 5 years, 62% believe ousting Saddam has been worth it, "six in 10 said they have a favorable view of the new Iraqi Governing Council" and a full half believe that "the coalition authorities are doing a better job now than two months ago." Not only are Iraqis more than happy that Saddam is good, they have full faith that they're headed down the right path with the right people. Doesn't much sound like malaise to me.

Dominique:

This is all the more important in that the entire region is under threat. We all realize that the problem goes beyond Iraq: it's the stability of the Arab and Muslim world that is at stake. In the Middle East, an exclusively security-oriented approach is only maintaining the cycle of violence and reprisals at the risk of destroying political prospects. This approach--let's be brave enough to say it--is leading nowhere. Far from promoting stability, it is fanning resentment, incomprehension and frustration.

See above.

Dominique:

Iraq is a land of memory. Her attachment to her traditions and her identity have already led her to reject the outside control that some have tried to impose. The result, throughout the last century, was upheavals that profoundly shook the country. From revolution to coup d'etat, the country has been unable to find the peace to which it deeply aspires.

That's the first sensible thing you've said! I'll let Hoshyar Zebari, the Foreign Minister of the Iraqi Governing Council, field this one:

In an interview last week, Ms. Hashemi expressed pride and satisfaction in having represented the Governing Council in delegations to the United Nations Security Council and in private discussions this month in Paris with Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin of France. She planned to go to New York next week as part of a delegation to try to claim Iraq's seat at the United Nations.

She said in the interview that she had admonished the French not to try to drive a wedge between the United States and the new Iraqi government by offering tempting plans for quick sovereignty.

"Don't think the Iraqis will ever forget what the Americans did in liberating them," she said she told French officials, adding, "we will not allow the Americans to fail."

Dominique: "Let us accelerate the training of an Iraqi national army on the model of what we are doing in Afghanistan."

Of course, no one at Counterpunch.org thinks Afghanistan is working, but let's not let that get in the way of our mutual hatred of US built democracy in Iraq.

Dominique: "It is an unprecedented challenge. It demands that we understand and adapt to the realities on the ground. It also demands that each one of us forget our past quarrels and abandon ideological biases."

Caution: Advice for external use only, benefits not applicable inside of France.