And in yet another failure of European foreign policy initiatives… The much vaunted deal with Iran looks like just another successful example of Iran duping gullible, “peace-in-our-time” European leaders.
Iran has hit back after European criticism of its decision to set up a uranium conversion plant near Isfahan.
UN ambassador Pirooz Hosseini told Reuters news agency the plant was not in breach of Iran’s commitment to suspend uranium enrichment.
On Wednesday the UK, Germany and France issued a joint statement saying the plant’s creation sent the wrong signal to the international community.
The row comes less than a week after UN inspectors returned to Iran.
FS: You forgot to mention that the European foreign policy has neglected to marginalise the United States and its wasteful, throwaway, plastic culture.
You just keep it up…you …you and I’ll show you who gets thrown away…
But back to the topic at hand.
Can anyone ANYONE (those letters are for you Daddy-O) give me ONE example of European foreign policy successfully ending a military conflict since WWII ended? Anyone? No? No Going Once? No Going Twice? NO.
And if not, why in the name of SANITY should anyone take European diplomats and their “consultations” and “meetings” and “negotiations” and “conferences” and “reviews” and “summits” and “initiatives” seriously? European diplomatic triumphs are of the same magnitude and importance to world affairs as Taiwanese diplomats scoring diplomatic breakthroughs by setting up diplomatic relations with Kiribati, or Gambia which are naturally always prefaced with the title… Gambia, a STRATEGIC country in West Africa or Kiribati, a STRATEGIC nation in the Pacific or Chad, a STRATEGIC nation in Africa. What nation isn’t STRATEGIC in the ROC diplomats view? What initiative is not WELCOMED or provides an opportunity for a SUCCESSFUL EXCHANGE OF VIEWS according to the European diplomat public relations spin?
On the 25th May 1978, a Norwegian fishing trawler was found inside Danish territorial waters (actually just off the coast near Nuuk, in Greenland) and refused to release its catch to Danish Fiheries inspectors. When the Norwegian captain shot one of the inspectors in the arm, the Danish government protested to the Norwegian government and threatened to harrass all Norwegian fishing boats unless an apology was forthcoming and proper restitution made. No apology was received and Denmark went to the European Council of Ministers who intervened on Denmark’s behalf as Norway was evidently in the wrong here. The ECM demanded that Norway say sorry or the Danish gunboats lying 13 nautical miles off Bergen would open fire and splinter all those wooden houses in Bergen’s picturesque harbour. Norway backed off, said sorry and a major conflict was averted. Victory for European Foreign Policy and no war.
That was a nice story. Ah see how successful European diplomats can be. Gosh a fishing dispute. I knew this would be good. I have so much more respect for European style diplomacy NOW. Gosh. If only we could get together and talk, maybe have some coffee, a piece of streudel and meet as concerned individuals, we could avert so many of the world’s problems. Now, why didn’t Bush think to invite Osama and Saddam over to the White House for coffee and girl scout cookies? The US really is a hegemonic unilateralist bent on looking for any excuse to play with its weapons in a mindless macho exhibition to compensate for its declining, shall I say impotent? influence in world affairs. Because today it’s all about soft power. Perhaps, European diplomats could learn from Annette Lu and her Hello Kitty campaign? Perhaps, a new European-led “initiative” wherein Hello Kitty and other cute creatures will teach Arabs to live in peace with their Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian neighbors? And Mr. Meanie will get taught a lesson and learn that wmds are BAD no they are downright NAUGHTY and all the other members of the group will gather to hug the crying, nay, weeping individual as he finally faces the errors of his way. Hmmmm kinda sounds like the brainwashing that went on during the Cultural Revolution in China. Do you suppose? multiculti groupthink and political correctness vs. Maoist self-criticism…
By the way, how are the French-led efforts in the Congo and Cote d’Ivoire going? Any rebel action taking place? Strange that CNN is not there reporting on the blind and willful recklessness with which France entered these regions without preparing the necessary exit strategy etc. etc. etc. How many innocent civilians have been hacked to death? How many French soldiers shot? Are these nations any closer to becoming more democratic and stable? Why not? And who does France think it is anyway going into nations with decades of history to rewrite local conditions to suit its hegemonic and imperial aspirations to take over Congo’s minerals and Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa production. It’s all about chocolate you know. Actually, given Belgium’s complicity in all of this I think that we can see that both nations are positioning themselves to take over the chocolate market. Demand for chocolate is soaring in East Asia particularly China and I think the French are trying to take over Cote d’Ivoire to position themselves at the center of the chocolate trade and to control it in the next century. It’s in their military white paper as well.
How’s unemployment in Congo? Any new roads or power plants? How’s the fresh water? What about disease? Has France stopped AIDS? Why not? Are there any new hospitals? Are the children in school? What about women? Are they getting the right to vote? What about literacy? Have these rates increased since France took over. I mean it has been like a whole year right? What have the French been doing? Clearly their policies are doomed to fail.
Erm…the Congo was the responsibility of the Belgians, not the French. So you can’t really blame the French for the Congo. Having said that though, by Belgian standards, things are going swimmingly in Kinshasa, despite no-one spotting a rebel army taking the ferry across from Brazzaville the other day.
Yes but the French are there trying to fix things. So what have they fixed? Have they restored water, power, reduced crime, provided jobs, stopped AIDS, gotten children back in school? I mean it has been a whole year since they went in. Where are the results? Where is the media coverage of this shambolic effort? What about Cote d’Ivoire. Also, the British went into Sierra Leone. Where are the hospitals, schools, new roads, airports, power plants, and what about disease and crime and a new constitution, etc. Why isn’t anyone talking about this! I mean the British have been there a whole year as well. A WHOLE YEAR!
Cannot you really think of one just one foreign policy success without joking? I mean there must be something that the Europeans have done right? There must be at least one military conflict that they stopped or prevented? Hell, just one? No? That is a joke.
are inherently modest