WikiLeaks Bullshit: Much Ado About Nothing, False Flag, Strategia della Tensione, or Sabotage Act against U.S. Foreign Policy?

WIKILEAKS REAL AGENDA

A Satirical Op-Ed by Narcisse Caméléon, deputy editor-in-chief

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On Bullshit: It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it. When an honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he considers his statements to be false. For the bullshitter, however, all these bets are off: he is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose. (Princeton University Professor Harry Frankfurt)

And if, to be sure, sometimes you need to conceal a fact with words, do it in such a way that it does not become known, or, if it does become known, that you have a ready and quick defense. (Niccolò Machiavelli)

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. (Edward L. Bernays)

WikiLeaks released yesterday a batch of about 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, exposing confidential information about U.S. relationships with the rest of the world and U.S. assessments of foreign leaders.

The White House denounced the disclosures as “reckless and dangerous".

In light of the revelations, apparently leaked by US Army soldier Bradley Manning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the unauthorized disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information (check out statement below).

The cables – a sampling of the daily traffic between the State Department and some 270 embassies and consulates – specify that Iran has obtained nineteen BM-25 missiles from North Korea with a range adequate to reach western Europe, and they also document Arab leaders calls for a military strike on Iran.

The documents also divulge U.S. diplomats were ordered to engage in spying by obtaining foreign diplomats’ personal information, such as frequent-flier and credit card numbers. The documents could abash the Obama administration and destabilize its diplomacy. In cables drafted by U.S. diplomats, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is called “Emperor without clothes”, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is described as an “alpha-dog,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai is “driven by paranoia,” and German Chancellor Angela Merkel “avoids risk and is rarely creative.” It also allegedly said that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi never travels without a trusted Ukraninan nurse, a ‘voluptuous blond’.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs expressed concern in a statement that Wikileaks release could jeopardize private talks with foreign governments and opposition leaders. The Pentagon announced yesterday it will take action to prevent future illegal releases of classified information.

In a opinion piece for the Daily Beast, Peter Beinart, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, calls these revelations an act of sabotage. Really? Or: Better bad press than no press at all? Or Bullshit as usual…

Read full story.

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Remarks to the Press on the Release of Confidential Documents

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

November 29, 2010

Hillary is very angry about the disclosures...

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SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good afternoon. Do we have enough room in here? I want to take a moment to discuss the recent news reports of classified documents that were illegally provided from United States Government computers. In my conversations with counterparts from around the world over the past few days, and in my meeting earlier today with Foreign Minister Davutoglu of Turkey, I have had very productive discussions on this issue.

The United States strongly condemns the illegal disclosure of classified information. It puts people’s lives in danger, threatens our national security, and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems. This Administration is advancing a robust foreign policy that is focused on advancing America’s national interests and leading the world in solving the most complex challenges of our time, from fixing the global economy, to thwarting international terrorism, to stopping the spread of catastrophic weapons, to advancing human rights and universal values. In every country and in every region of the world, we are working with partners to pursue these aims.

So let’s be clear: this disclosure is not just an attack on America’s foreign policy interests. It is an attack on the international community – the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations, that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity.

I am confident that the partnerships that the Obama Administration has worked so hard to build will withstand this challenge. The President and I have made these partnerships a priority – and we are proud of the progress that they have helped achieve – and they will remain at the center of our efforts.

I will not comment on or confirm what are alleged to be stolen State Department cables. But I can say that the United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats’ personal assessments and observations. I want to make clear that our official foreign policy is not set through these messages, but here in Washington. Our policy is a matter of public record, as reflected in our statements and our actions around the world.

I would also add that to the American people and to our friends and partners, I want you to know that we are taking aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information. I have directed that specific actions be taken at the State Department, in addition to new security safeguards at the Department of Defense and elsewhere to protect State Department information so that this kind of breach cannot and does not ever happen again.

Relations between governments aren’t the only concern created by the publication of this material. U.S. diplomats meet with local human rights workers, journalists, religious leaders, and others outside of governments who offer their own candid insights. These conversations also depend on trust and confidence. For example, if an anti-corruption activist shares information about official misconduct, or a social worker passes along documentation of sexual violence, revealing that person’s identity could have serious repercussions: imprisonment, torture, even death.

So whatever are the motives in disseminating these documents, it is clear that releasing them poses real risks to real people, and often to the very people who have dedicated their own lives to protecting others.

Now, I am aware that some may mistakenly applaud those responsible, so I want to set the record straight: There is nothing laudable about endangering innocent people, and there is nothing brave about sabotaging the peaceful relations between nations on which our common security depends.

There have been examples in history in which official conduct has been made public in the name of exposing wrongdoings or misdeeds. This is not one of those cases. In contrast, what is being put on display in this cache of documents is the fact that American diplomats are doing the work we expect them to do. They are helping identify and prevent conflicts before they start. They are working hard every day to solve serious practical problems – to secure dangerous materials, to fight international crime, to assist human rights defenders, to restore our alliances, to ensure global economic stability. This is the role that America plays in the world. This is the role our diplomats play in serving America. And it should make every one of us proud.

The work of our diplomats doesn’t just benefit Americans, but also billions of others around the globe. In addition to endangering particular individuals, disclosures like these tear at the fabric of the proper function of responsible government.

People of good faith understand the need for sensitive diplomatic communications, both to protect the national interest and the global common interest. Every country, including the United States, must be able to have candid conversations about the people and nations with whom they deal. And every country, including the United States, must be able to have honest, private dialogue with other countries about issues of common concern. I know that diplomats around the world share this view – but this is not unique to diplomacy. In almost every profession – whether it’s law or journalism, finance or medicine or academia or running a small business – people rely on confidential communications to do their jobs. We count on the space of trust that confidentiality provides. When someone breaches that trust, we are all worse off for it. And so despite some of the rhetoric we’ve heard these past few days, confidential communications do not run counter to the public interest. They are fundamental to our ability to serve the public interest.

In America, we welcome genuine debates about pressing questions of public policy. We have elections about them. That is one of the greatest strengths of our democracy. It is part of who we are and it is a priority for this Administration. But stealing confidential documents and then releasing them without regard for the consequences does not serve the public good, and it is not the way to engage in a healthy debate.

In the past few days, I have spoken with many of my counterparts around the world, and we have all agreed that we will continue to focus on the issues and tasks at hand. In that spirit, President Obama and I remain committed to productive cooperation with our partners as we seek to build a better, more prosperous world for all.

Thank you, and I’d be glad to take a few questions.

MR. CROWLEY: We’ll begin with Charlie Wolfson of CBS in his last week here covering the State Department.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Where are you going, Charlie?

QUESTION: I’ll (inaudible) into the sunset, but let me get to a question.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, sir. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, are you embarrassed by these leaks personally, professionally? And what harm have the leaks done to the U.S. so far that you can determine from talking to your colleagues?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Charlie, as I said in my statement, and based on the many conversations that I’ve had with my counterparts, I am confident that the partnerships and relationships that we have built in this Administration will withstand this challenge. The President and I have made these partnerships a priority, a real centerpiece of our foreign policy, and we’re proud of the progress that we have made over the last 22 months.

Every single day, U.S. Government representatives from the entire government, not just from the State Department, engage with hundreds if not thousands of government representatives and members of civil society from around the world. They carry out the goals and the interests and the values of the United States. And it is imperative that we have candid reporting from those who are in the field working with their counterparts in order to inform our decision-making back here in Washington.

I can tell you that in my conversations, at least one of my counterparts said to me, “Well, don’t worry about it. You should see what we say about you.” (Laughter.) So I think that this is well understood in the diplomatic community as part of the give-and-take. And I would hope that we will be able to move beyond this and back to the business of working together on behalf of our common goals.

MR. CROWLEY: Kim Ghattas of BBC.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Kim.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, I was wondering whether you could tell us what you think your upcoming trip is going to look like. Presumably, a lot of the people who have been mentioned in those alleged cables are going to have conversations with you. Do you think it’s going to cause you discomfort over the coming week as you engage in conversations with those leaders?

And I know you don’t want to comment on the particulars of the cables, but one issue that has been brought up into the daylight is the debate about Iran. What do you think the impact is going to be of those documents on the debate about Iran in the coming weeks and months?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Kim, you’re right. And I don’t know if you’re going on this trip or not, but we will be seeing dozens of my counterparts in Astana, and then as I go on from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and then ending up in Bahrain for the Manama dialogue. And I will continue the conversations that I have started with some in person and over the phone over the last days, and I will seek out others because I want personally to impress upon them the importance that I place on the kind of open, productive discussions that we have had to date and my intention to continue working closely with them.

Obviously, this is a matter of great concern, because we don’t want anyone in any of the countries that could be affected by these alleged leaks here to have any doubts about our intentions and our about commitments. That’s why I stressed in my remarks that policy is made in Washington. The President and I have been very clear about our goals and objectives in dealing with the full range of global challenges that we face. And we will continue to be so and we will continue to look for every opportunity to work with our friends and partners and allies around the world and to deal in a very clear-eyed way with those with whom we have differences, which of course brings me to Iran.

I think that it should not be a surprise to anyone that Iran is a source of great concern not only in the United States, that what comes through in every meeting that I have anywhere in the world is a concern about Iranian actions and intentions. So if anything, any of the comments that are being reported on allegedly from the cables confirm the fact that Iran poses a very serious threat in the eyes of many of her neighbors, and a serious concern far beyond her region.

That is why the international community came together to pass the strongest possible sanctions against Iran. It did not happen because the United States went out and said, “Please do this for us.” It happened because countries, once they evaluated the evidence concerning Iran’s actions and intentions, reached the same conclusion that the United States reached – that we must do whatever we can to muster the international community to take action to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state.

So if anyone reading the stories about these alleged cables thinks carefully, what they will conclude is that the concern about Iran is well founded, widely shared, and will continue to be at the source of the policy that we pursue with likeminded nations to try to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

MR. CROWLEY: We’ve got to let the Secretary get to her airplane and get to her trip. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I will leave you in P.J.’s very good hands. Thank you.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, did you talk to anyone in Pakistan or India?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you all.

QUESTION: Thank you, Madam. (Inaudible).

MR. CROWLEY: What we’ll do is we’ll take, say, a 30-minute filing break, and then we’ll reconvene in the Briefing Room and continue our discussion.

French Presidential Election 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy reshuffles his Cabinet ahead of 2012 battle

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, facing slackening polls ahead of the 2012 re-election, reappointed his old friend and new rival François Fillon, the country’s prime minister, as part of naming a new, more conservative French cabinet, The New York Times reports.

François Fillon’s quiet tenacity has earned him the respect of the nation. Foto: RFI.

France’s Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry, the charismatic daughter of former European Commission President Jacques Delors, and far-right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen could challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the country’s leadership, the article said.

“Mr. Sarkozy won in 2007 by uniting the right around him. He is known to be worried now about a growing level of support for the National Front to his right, which could damage his 2012 re-election prospects if the opposition Socialists united around a credible presidential candidate.”

Read full story.

USA and France Press for Quick Iran Sanctions

At a joint White House news conference, U.S. President Barack Obama, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said he wanted approval within weeks for tougher UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

President Barack Obama and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France have a discussion in the Blue Room of the White House before their joint press availability, March 30, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The White House – Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

March 30, 2010

Remarks by President Obama and President Sarkozy of France during Joint Press Availability

East Room

4:56 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Please, everybody have a seat. Good afternoon. Bienvenue. 

I am delighted to welcome my dear friend, President Sarkozy, to the White House. And I also want to welcome to the United States the First Lady of France, and Michelle and I are very much looking forward to hosting our guests at dinner this evening.

Now, I have to point out that the French are properly famous for their cuisine, and so the fact that Nicolas went to Ben’s Chili Bowl for lunch — (laughter) — I think knows — shows his discriminating palate. My understanding is he had a half-smoke, so he was sampling the local wares. And we appreciate that very much.

This visit is an opportunity to return the hospitality that the President and the French people have shown to me during my visits to France. And that includes our family’s wonderful visit to Paris last summer. Michelle and I will never forget the opportunity to introduce our daughters for the first time to the City of Lights. And I don’t think that Sasha will ever forget celebrating her 8th birthday at the Élysée Palace with the President of France. That’s a pretty fancy way for an 8-year-old to spend their birthday.

Today, President Sarkozy and I have reaffirmed the enduring ties between our countries. France is our oldest ally, and one of our closest. We are two great republics —- bound by common ideals —- that have stood together for more than two centuries, from Yorktown to Normandy to Afghanistan. 

Under President Sarkozy’s leadership, France has further secured its rightful place as a leader in Europe and around the world, recognizing that meeting global challenges requires global partnerships. France took the historic step of returning to NATO’s military command, and we are working to revitalize our transatlantic bonds, including a strong, capable European Union, which the United States firmly supports — because a close transatlantic partnership is critical to progress, whether it’s applying our combined strength to promote development and confront violent extremism in Africa, or reconstruction in Haiti, or advancing peace from the Caucasus to the Middle East.

Mr. President, on behalf of the American people, I also want to thank you for your personal efforts to strengthen the partnership between our countries.  We first met four years ago. I was a senator then; Nicolas was still running for President at the time, and I immediately came to admire your legendary energy —- and your enthusiasm for what our countries can achieve together. That was the spirit of your eloquent speech to Congress three years ago, which deeply moved many Americans.

Over the past year, the President and I have worked closely on numerous occasions. We respect one another and understand one another, and we share a belief that through bold yet pragmatic action, our generation can bend the arc of history toward justice and towards progress. And this shared commitment to solving problems allowed us to advance our common interests today.

We agreed to continue working aggressively to sustain the global economic recovery and create jobs for our people. And this includes, as we agreed with our G20 partners at Pittsburgh, to replacing the old cycle of bubble and bust with growth that is balanced and sustained. And this requires effective coordination by all nations. To that end, I updated the President on our efforts to pass financial reform, and I look forward to the Senate taking action on this landmark legislation so we never repeat the mistakes that led to this crisis.

We must provide sufficient oversight so that reckless speculation or reckless risk-taking by a few big players in the financial markets will never again threaten the global economy or burden taxpayers. We must assure that consumers of financial products have the information and safeguards that they need, so their life savings are not placed in needless jeopardy. And that’s why I press for the passage of these reforms through Congress when they return, and I will continue to work with President Sarkozy and other world leaders to coordinate our efforts, because we want to make sure that whatever steps we’re taking, they are occurring on both sides of the Atlantic. 

We agreed that sustained and balanced growth includes rejecting protectionism.  France is one of our largest trading partners. And we need to expand global commerce, not constrain it.  With that regard, we think it’s important that Doha trade negotiations move forward this year, and we need all interested parties to push for a more ambitious and balanced agreement that opens global markets. And we look forward to France’s presidency of both the G8 and G20 next year. So Nicolas is going to be very busy.

To address climate change, we agreed that all nations aligned with the Copenhagen accord must meet their responsibilities. And I would note that President Sarkozy’s leadership has resulted in significant new resources to address deforestation around the world. Upcoming meetings at the United Nations and the Major Economies Forum will be an opportunity for nations to follow up their Copenhagen commitments with specific and concrete actions that reduce emissions.

We reaffirmed our commitment to confront the greatest threat to global security —- the spread of nuclear weapons. And I updated President Sarkozy on our new START treaty with Russia. I look forward to welcoming President Sarkozy back to Washington in two weeks for our summit on securing vulnerable nuclear material so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists. 

We discussed our shared determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. On this the United States and France are united, are inseparable.  With our P5-plus-1 partners, we offer Iran good faith proposals to resolve this matter through diplomacy. But Iran thus far has rejected those offers. Today, the international community is more united than ever on the need for Iran to uphold its obligations. And that’s why we’re pursuing strong sanctions through the U.N. Security Council. 

And finally we discussed our efforts to advance security and peace around the world, including in the Middle East, where we agree that all sides need to act now to create the atmosphere that gives the proximity talks the best chance to succeed. 

I shared my impressions from my discussions with President Karzai on the urgent need for good government and development in Afghanistan. As I told our troops, we salute our coalition partners, and that includes France, which is one of the largest contributors to the NATO mission, and which has given its most precious resource, the lives of its young men and women, to a mission that is vital to the security of both our countries’ and the world’s security.

So I thank President Sarkozy for his visit and for the progress that our countries have made today, in large part because of his extraordinary leadership. We are global partners facing global challenges together, and I think that Nicolas will agree that when it comes to America’s oldest ally, we’ve never been closer.

So I’ll simply close with words that one American leader expressed to another French partner more than 200 years ago, because Washington’s words to Rochambeau reflect the bonds between our countries today: We are “fellow laborers in the cause of liberty and we have lived together as brothers should do — in harmonious friendship.” 

In that spirit, I welcome President Nicolas Sarkozy.

PRESIDENT SARKOZY:  Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for your invitation. I think that we can say — I stand to be corrected by Bernard Kouchner and Christine Lagarde — but I think we can say that rarely in the history of our two countries has the community of views been so identical between the United States of America and France.

To wit, one example, which is that France would not be stepping next year into the presidency of the G20 had the United States of America not supported France for this presidency. Now, there are the words, there are the statements, and then there are the facts, the acts, and that is a fact. 

Now, I will not repeat what President Obama so eloquently said. On Afghanistan, we support President Obama’s strategy. We cannot afford to lose — not for us, not for ourselves, but for Afghanistan and for the people of Afghanistan, who are entitled to live in freedom. Of course the road is arduous. Of course nothing can be anticipated. And of course we are so sorrowful for the loss of young lives. But we have to have the courage to go to the end of our strategy and explain that there is no alternative strategy.  Defeat would be too high a price for the security of Americans, the French, and Europeans. By fighting in Afghanistan, what we are fighting for is world security, quite simply.

Now, on Iran, I am very satisfied with what President Obama has said. The time has come to take decisions.  Iran cannot continue its mad race. Now, we don’t want to punish Iran, which deserves better than what it has by way of leadership today, and therefore fully support in order to get stronger, tougher sanctions at the Security Council and take the necessary decisions is what you have. I have said to President Obama that with Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown we will make all necessary efforts to ensure that Europe as a whole engages in the sanction regime.

On the Middle East, it’s excellent news to hear that the United States are thus engaged. Of course peace in the Middle East is the — is something which concerns primarily the Israelis and the Palestinians. However, the absence of peace in the Middle East is a problem for all of us, because what it does is keep feeding terrorism all over the world. And I wish to express my solidarity vis-à-vis President Obama in condemning the settlement process. Everybody knows how engaged and committed I am vis-à-vis Israel’s security, but the settlement process achieves nothing and contributes in no way to Israel’s safety and security. There comes a time when you have to take initiatives in favor of peace.

Now, on financial regulation, again, it’s great news for the world to hear that the United States is availing itself of rules, adopting rules so that we not go back to what we have already experienced. And during the French presidency of the G20, Tim Geithner, Christine Lagarde are going to be working hand-in-glove in order to go even further in regulating world capitalism, and in particular, raising the issue of a new world international monetary order.

On all these subjects there’s much convergence of views. And of course I want to say to President Obama how glad we were for him and for the USA to hear of the successful passing of the health care reform. 

And insofar as the President has revealed a secret — namely, where I had lunch today — I should say that I have a good friend in Washington who had actually recommended that restaurant. When I walked in I saw a huge photograph of President Obama. And I’m afraid that when you go back to that restaurant you may see a smaller photograph of the French President.  (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  We’ve got time for a couple of questions. I’m going to call on Ben Feller. There you are, Ben — AP.

Q    Thank you, sir. Thank you for your patience. President Obama, you’ve talked about the importance of having consequences for Iran over its nuclear program, but is there ever a real deadline? What is your specific timeline for U.N. sanctions on Iran? And is it one that the American people can believe in?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well —

Q   I’m sorry, sir, I just wanted to ask President Sarkozy, you said yesterday in New York that the world needs an open America, an America that listens. I’m wondering if you can elaborate; specifically if you think President Obama is open to the world and is listening to you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, let me answer the second question, even though that was to Nicolas. I listen to Nicolas all the time. I can’t stop listening to him.  (Laughter.) 

On Iran, we came in with a very clear approach and a very clear strategy, and it was an open book to the world. We said we would engage Iran and give them an opportunity to take the right path, a path that would lead to prosperity and opportunity for their people and a peaceful region, and one in which they would allow themselves to become a full-fledged member of the community of nations. The alternative path was further isolation and further consequences.

We mobilized the international community around this approach, including partners like Russia that in the past might have been more hesitant to take a firmer stance on Iran’s nuclear program. What we said, though, was that there was going to be a time limit to it and that if we had not seen progress by the end of the year, it was time for us to move forward on that sanctions track.

My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring. So I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place; I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks. And we are working diligently with our international partners, emphasizing to them that, as Nicolas said, this is not simply an issue of trying to isolate Iran; it has enormous implications for the safety and the security of the entire region. We don’t want to see a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

A conflict in the Middle East as a consequence of Iran’s actions could have a huge destabilizing effect in terms of the world economy at a time when it’s just coming out of a very deep recession. 

The long-term consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are unacceptable.  And so Nicolas, myself and others agree that we have engaged; the door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk through it. But they understand very clearly what the terms of a diplomatic solution would be. And in the interim we are going to move forcefully on a U.N. sanctions regime.

Now, do we have unanimity in the international community? Not yet. And that’s something that we have to work on. We think that we are in a much stronger position to get robust sanctions now than we were a year ago prior to us initiating our strategy.

But it’s still difficult, partly because, let’s be honest, Iran is a oil producer and there are a lot of countries around the world that, regardless of Iran’s offenses, are thinking that their commercial interests are more important to them than these long-term geopolitical interests. And so we have to continue to apply pressure not just on Iran but we have to make sure that we are communicating very clearly that this is very important to the United States.

Q   You can get unanimity within weeks?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: We think that we can get sanctions within weeks.

PRESIDENT SARKOZY: Well, I’ve read many comments — and I must say I’ve been quite amused — on the relations between European leaders and the President of the United States. I say I’m amused because I’ve thought to myself, well, when we speak to one another, people must be listening to our phone calls because I have seen reports on conversations and discussions which in no way resemble anything that has ever taken place between Barack Obama and myself. 

Now, why is it easy for us to work? And I speak on behalf of Chancellor Merkel, Gordon Brown, and other leaders. Well, because President Obama, when he says something, keeps his word. His word is his bond. And that is so important.  There’s a joke among us — we don’t like surprises. Well, from my point of view, there’s no surprises. When he can, he delivers. When he can’t, he says so. So there are no surprises. And we try to be likewise.

Furthermore, secondly, on all topics — and there have been some pretty tough topics. I mean, for instance, bonus — taxes on bonuses, regulation, financial regulations — pretty heavy going stuff — Copenhagen. I mean, I happen to think that President Obama is a step ahead of public opinion in the United States on this. But we’re constantly talking about it. It’s even President Obama who wanted us to have a call conference, a videoconference virtually every month with Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown.

Now, this doesn’t really mean that we absolutely agree neck and neck on everything, but we talk amongst ourselves. And this is a novelty from the point of view of Europe whenever we look at the United States that everything is put on the table, anything can be discussed, everything can be discussed.

What matters, you see, is not whether we agree once systematically before we’ve even started discussing — that’s suspicious — it’s to say whatever divergence of views we have, we can talk about it among ourselves. And I say things very frankly to you, and this is what all we European leaders believe and think.

I’ve also heard it said that Europe was less interested in the United States. Well, for heaven’s sake, how many times do we have to come over to show that we are interested? What would it mean if we were interested?

So, very frankly and very honestly on this, not only is it not an issue, not a problem, but it’s great to be able to work under such conditions. I would say that what I have to say about President Obama is the same as what Bernard Kouchner could say about Hillary Clinton, or Christine Lagarde about Tim Geithner. We’re constantly having a dialogue. 

I could even take you — give you an example of something on which we don’t necessarily agree, such as Syria — or we didn’t agree.  France took an initiative, as you know. Well, I’ll say this to you: At no point, no point, has President Obama turned his back on what we were doing. Constantly he’s watching, he’s listening. We’re constantly exchanging information on the subject. Even when there are more complex topics, including in our relations with the Russians, before even we inform our Russian — the Russians or our partners, I pick up the phone, I call President Obama, and he knows exactly what we’re going to do and why we’re going to do it. You follow me on that?

So, there may be disagreements, but never for the wrong reasons. And as we are very transparent on both sides, there’s confidence, there’s trust. And I really think I can say that. There’s a lot of trust.

Now, trust always helps one overcome perhaps diverging interests. It may be that the United States of America has slightly different interests of those of France, but the bedrock of trust between us is something that he also has with all European leaders. And I don’t say this to please you. I said this is true. And I took two examples of two topics that could, in other tide, other times, have led to head-on collision, and which in this case, on the contrary, are looked at on both sides of the Atlantic as a situation where we are complementary.

Perhaps he said, well, maybe on Syria, France is on the right track, and maybe one day we’ll have the opportunity to do likewise, and that’s exactly the way we work.

Go ahead, I’m not the one with the mic.

Q Since you’ve just talked about the United — the relations between Europe and United States, didn’t you get a bad surprise, a nasty surprise, on the Pentagon’s decision on the tanker planes, which reversed the decision which had originally been taken in favor of Airbus? Did you raise this subject with President Obama? And if so, did you try and put together a new approach so as to ensure that the competition would be fairer, new version of this contract with the Pentagon, and don’t you think that it would be probably fair to share this contract with the Europeans, since they are now full members of NATO and that they share the price of the war on the ground?

PRESIDENT SARKOZY: If I said I hadn’t raised it, it would mean that what I’ve just told you would be meaningless and senseless. Of course we’ve talked about it — and President Obama will give you his answer. But I said to him, I trust you. And I do trust him. If you say to me that the request for proposals, the call for tenders will be free, fair and transparent, then we say EADS will bid and we trust you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: What I said to President Sarkozy is, is that the process will be free and fair, and that the trust is justified.

Now, it’s important for my European friends to understand that, at least here, the Secretary of Defense makes procurement decisions. The President does not meddle in these decisions. And that’s a longstanding policy. So I maintain an arm’s length approach, but I have assurances from Secretary of Defense Gates that, in fact, the re-bidding process is going to be completely transparent, completely open, and a fair competition. That’s in our interests. It’s in the interest of American taxpayers, and it’s also in the interest of our young men and women who rely on this equipment in order to protect this nation.

And it’s important to note, I think, for those of you who don’t know Secretary Gates, this is somebody who has actually taken on the military and weapons systems establishment and initiated some very significant procurement reforms that nobody ever thought would happen here in Washington. So he’s somebody who’s willing to call it like it is and make difficult decisions, and he will do so in this situation as well.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Jacques Chirac rechnet in seinen Memoiren mit Nicolas Sarkozy ab

Nicolas Sarkozy hatte damals schon diesen Willen, sich unentbehrlich zu machen und immer dabei zu sein, war hibbelig, übereifrig und begierig, zu handeln“, schreibt Jacques Chirac in seinen Memoiren, aus denen die französische Tageszeitung Le Parisien Auszüge veröffentlichte.

Der junge Sarkozy sei stets ein Meister der medialen Inszenierung gewesen.

„Er war immer mehr als ein einfacher Mitarbeiter“, schreibt Jacques Chirac. Sarkozys Unterstützung von Biedermann des bürgerlichen Lagers Edouard Balladur (im Hintergrund von Chiracs Erzfeind Valéry Giscard d’Estaing manövriert worden) bei der Präsidentschaftswahl gegen ihn habe ihn verletzt, gesteht der einstige politische Ziehvater von Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac.

Der erste Band der Memoiren, der von Donnerstag an im Handel erhältlich ist, beschreibt den Beginn von Chiracs politischer Karriere bis zur Präsidentschaftswahl 1995.

Externer Link (französisch): Avec ses Mémoires, Jacques Chirac règle ses comptes, Artikel in der französischen Tageszeitung Le Parisien.

EU Presidency Turnover

TIME previews the transfer of power of the EU presidency from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Czech President Vaclav Klaus and says some western European nations are concerned about the turnover.

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Brazil signs arms deal with France

Two-day summit talks between Brazilian and European leaders in Rio de Janeiro concluded with Brazil and France signing a $12 billion arms deal in which Brazil agreed to buy fifty helicopters and technology to build five submarines, including a nuclear-powered submarine from France.

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India-France nuclear talks

After the U.S. House of Representatives voted this weekend to pass the U.S.-India nuclear deal (it still must pass the U.S. Senate), Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets today with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss boosting civilian nuclear energy trade, the BBC reports.

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Sarkozy-Syria Trip

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy today begins a trip to Syria aimed at shoring up relations between Paris and its former colony.

The BBC profiles the trip and says bilateral relations have slumped since the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which some analysts accused Syria of masterminding.

The Middle East Times argues that Nicolas Sarkozy appears to be working to bolster his influence in the region to fill a diplomatic void created by the United States’ policy of seeking to isolate Syria.

French Deaths in Afghanistan

The American Jewish Committee (AJC), in a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, mourned the loss of the French soldiers killed this week and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. “We applaud the bravery of the French forces in Afghanistan – as we salute your principled leadership in the war against terrorism, in stalwart alliance with the United States, and your unwavering efforts to counter Islamic extremism, in Afghanistan and elsewhere,” wrote AJC President Richard J. Sideman and Executive Director David A. Harris.

AJC has a longstanding relationship with France, maintaing an office in Paris under the directorship of Valérie Hoffenberg.

The full text of the letter is below:

New York, August 21, 2008

Dear President Sarkozy,

The American Jewish Committee extends its profound condolences to you, to the French people and to the aggrieved families on the death this week of ten French soldiers in Afghanistan. We wish a quick recovery to the other twenty-one soldiers who sustained injuries in the Taliban attack.

During your visit to Afghanistan this week, you vowed that the French contingent would remain in that country despite the deadly attack, telling your troops, “The work you are doing here is vital.” We applaud the bravery of the French forces in Afghanistan – as we salute your principled leadership in the war against terrorism, in stalwart alliance with the United States, and your unwavering efforts to counter Islamic extremism, in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

We express our deep appreciation for the service and sacrifice of France’s 3,000 troops in Afghanistan. Please accept, once again, our sincere condolences for this week’s tragic losses.

With admiration and friendship, we remain,

Respectfully,

Richard J. Sideman
David A. Harris

Bombing Iran or Living with Iran’s Bomb?

The Transatlantic Institute issued a report commissioned from defence and Middle East affairs analyst, Kassem Ja’afar. The report looks into the two scenarios described by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a speech last August 2007: bombing Iran or living with Iran’s bomb.

To read the report, please click here.

Ireland reacts to Nicolas Sarkozy Ultimatum

The Irish Times reports the country’s leaders have attempted to play down comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Ireland should hold another referendum vote on the Lisbon Treaty to reform the EU constitution.

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French-Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit Marks Two Years in Captivity

Press Release

New York, June 25, 2008 – On the second anniversary of the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier into Gaza, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) renewed its call for world leaders and governments to continue to press Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of Gilad Shalit.

“Two years is long enough.  Gilad Shalit must be freed immediately and reunited with his family,” said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, National Director.  “If Hamas wants to show the world that it is serious about entering into a more peaceful period with Israel, perhaps no step would be more symbolically or strategically important than the immediate release of Israel’s captured soldier.”

In his letters from captivity, Cpl. Shalit has told his family that he is in poor health and desperately in need of rest and medical attention. 

“World leaders need to reinforce the message to Hamas that enough is enough, and that there is little to gain by holding out any longer against Israel’s efforts to secure his release,” said Messrs. Lewy and Foxman.  “When a life hangs in the balance and a deal is so close, there is no excuse for needlessly prolonging the process and the pain inflicted on Cpl. Shalit’s family.”

ADL expressed appreciation to the government of Egypt for its concerted effort on the initiative to secure the immediate release of Cpl. Shalit and to halt the barrage of rocket fire and mortar attacks from Hamas-controlled territory in Gaza.

“We also express appreciation to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France for his efforts to speed the release of Gilad Shalit as both an Israeli and French citizen,” the ADL leaders said.

More information on Israeli soldiers held captive is available at http://www.adl.org/freethemnow

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

French Counterterror Strategy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented a new defense strategy aimed at overhauling the French military. Nicolas Sarkozy said terrorism is now the main threat facing France.

“He said the intelligence budget for new satellites, drones and other surveillance equipment would double, and that up to 10,000 soldiers would be assigned to internal security duties ranging from pandemics to cyber-attacks. A new national security council will be set up at the Elysee palace. A former ambassador to Iraq and Algeria has been named to hold the newly-created post of national intelligence co-ordinator.”

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Anno Horribilis for Nicolas Sarkozy

After an ambitious start, analysts say French reforms have stagnated and President Nicolas Sarkozy’s popularity has dwindled in his second year, Newsweek International reports.

“It would be easy at this point to give up on Sarkozy as a lost cause and revert to the traditional view: that France simply cannot be reformed. After all, his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, also took office as a supposedly pro-American reformer, but then quickly backed down in the face of crippling strikes.”

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Sarkozy ‘non’ to Blair EU presidency

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has withdrawn his support for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s bid to become the first president of the European Union, the BBC reports.

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The French Military Revolution

Newsweek International reports on France’s success in using small combat units to partner with different international military alliances.

“A year into his first term, in fact, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is using his warm relations with Washington and his military’s strong record fighting in Africa and the Balkans to help re-establish France publicly and formally as a leading player in NATO, more than four decades after President Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the alliance’s integrated command and kicked its offices out of Paris. At the same time, he’s working to put France at the fore of a separate European Union defense force and extend its influence eastward to the Persian Gulf and South Asia. And if France really wants to project itself on the world stage this way, well, it couldn’t happen at a better time. U.S. forces are stretched thin, and there are only a handful of other armies with the training, the bases, the organization and, most important, the political will to kill and die in far corners of the planet to keep local wars from emerging into global threats. The shortlist includes the Brits-and the French, and that’s about it.”

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Unverdiente Auszeichnung: Bürgermeister von Paris macht Sektenführer Dalai Lama zum Ehrenbürger

Wenn ein Mann von allen gehasst wird, muss man die Gründe dafür überprüfen. Wenn ein Mann von allen geliebt wird, muss man das auch überprüfen. (Konfuzius)

Die Galionsfigur der antichinesischen Propaganda im Westen, sprich der Sektenführer Dalai Lama, ist zum Ehrenbürger von Paris ernannt worden. Nur die Sozialisten und Grünen im Stadtrat  von Paris stimmten dafür, wie der französische Sender France Info berichtete.

Die Liberal-Konservativen um Nicolas Sarkozy verweigerten (zu Recht) die Abstimmung. Der Vorschlag des außenpolitisch unerfahrenen sozialistischen Bürgermeisters Bertrand Delanoë gefährdet das Fundament der bisher sehr guten französisch-chinesischen Beziehungen, und ist deshalb ein schwer wiegender politischer Fehler, weil sich Frankreichs Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy derzeit um eine diplomatische Entspannung mit China bemüht, nachdem gewalttätige Dalai-Lama-Anhänger den olympischen Fackellauf in Paris gestört und dabei die 27-jährige chinesische Rollstuhl-Fechterin Jin Jin verletzt hatten.

Nicolas Sarkozy hat seinem chinesischen Amtskollegen Hu Jintao eine persönlich gewidmete Biografie des in China beliebten französischen Generals und Staatsmannes Charles De Gaulle geschenkt, sagte der ehemalige Premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin, der Zeitung Le Parisien. Dies sei ein Zeichen einer “Politik der Freundschaft”. “Die französische China-Politik ändert sich nicht”, fügte Raffarin hinzu. “Es gibt eine starke Bindung zwischen Frankreich und China.”

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, der mit Jacques Chirac als ausgewiesener Kenner und Liebhaber der chinesischen Kultur gilt und übermorgen Chinas Premier und Staatspräsidenten in Peking treffen wird, kritisierte aufs Schärfste die “unangemessene” Entscheidung des Stadtrats von Paris, den Dalai Lama zum Ehrenbürger zu ernennen. “Das ist eine rein lokale Angelegenheit ohne jede nationale Auswirkung.”

France returns to NATO’s military command

On the second day of the NATO summit in Bucharest, French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated he intends to have France rejoin NATO’s military command, which it quit in 1966 under Général De Gaulle, and said he will make a formal decision by the end of the year. Nicolas Sarkozy also said France was prepared to deploy some 800 troops to eastern Afghanistan.

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The Future of European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP)

A report from the French think tank Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI) examines challenges facing EU defense policy and calls for an increased focus on counterterrorism and nation-building.

“The next few years will be crucial to determining which direction European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) goes. Some factors will favor further growth and development.

First, the Lisbon ‘reform’ treaty should soon be ratified, introducing important new innovations to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and, more importantly, putting to rest the intra-EU quarrel that has impeded progress for the last five years.

Second, the divisions that arose over the Iraq War are fading, both Europe and the United States and within Europe itself. This should facilitate a more reasoned discussion of Europe’s role in global security.

Third, with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars continuing and a major presidential campaign underway, the United States has entered a period in which openness to independent European efforts is apt to increase, provided that these efforts are viewed as generally positive for the transatlantic relationship.

Fourth, the French presidency of the EU, which begins in June 2008, is very likely to attempt to push ESDP forward into a new phase.”

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The New French-British Brotherhood

NPR surveys press reaction on either side of the English Channel to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Britain.

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle questions whether the meetings signify a marginalization of Berlin.

France and UK to press banks over more transparency

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a joint push for greater regulation of European banks, calling for “full and immediate disclosure” of potentially bad debts.

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France’s Nuclear Diplomacy

Michelle Smith and Charles Ferguson evaluate Sarkozy’s nuclear deals in the Middle East, in the International Herald Tribune.

“The recent war games in the Gulf with France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are connected to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s nuclear diplomacy. Sarkozy has been leveraging France’s leading civilian nuclear technology to gain diplomatic, commercial and military advantages with countries in the Middle East, as well parts of Africa and Asia. In response, nonproliferation experts have voiced their unease at the idea of exporting potentially nuclear bomb-usable technologies to proliferation-prone regions.”

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Nicolas Sarkozy et Jacques Chirac réunis pour l’hommage au dernier héros de la Grande Guerre

La République a rendu aujourd’hui un hommage solennel à Lazare Ponticelli, soldat et patriote français né en Italie et ultime poilu décédé à l’âge de 110 ans, ainsi qu’à ses 8,5 millions de camarades de la Première Guerre mondiale, dont 1,4 million furent tués lors de ce conflit, le premier du genre de l’histoire contemporaine de par son ampleur planétaire.

La cérémonie s’est déroulée à l’Hôtel national des Invalides, haut lieu de mémoire des armées de la France.

11 heures: Le cercueil de Lazare Ponticelli pénètre dans l’église Saint-Louis des Invalides, porté par onze légionnaires au képi blanc et encadré de quatre pionniers barbus au large tablier de cuir, hache sur l’épaule, appartenant au 3e régiment étranger d’infanterie, héritier du 4e régiment de marche de la Légion étrangère où avait servi Lazare Ponticelli. Une minute de silence est observée dans les administrations et les drapeaux mis en berne sur les bâtiments publics.

Sous les ors de “l’Eglise des soldats”, 500 personnes suivent les obsèques religieuses, dont le président Nicolas Sarkozy et son prédécesseur et ancien mentor Jacques Chirac.

12 heures: Le cercueil est acheminé vers la cour d’honneur entre une double haie de membres de l’association “Le Poilu d’Epernay”, fusil Lebel à la main, revêtant l’uniforme français de 1915: casque d’acier Adrian, capote, pantalon et bandes molletières en drap bleu horizon, brodequins de cuir. L’académicien et ancien homme politique Max Gallo, lui aussi fils d’immigrés italiens, prononce alors une allocution émouvante évoquant avec prestance les faits d’armes de Lazare Ponticelli qui “nous rend fiers, par toute sa vie, d’être son frère humain”.

12 heures 45: La “Marche funèbre” de Chopin accompagne le pas des légionnaires qui portent le cercueil vers la sortie. Il sera inhumé cinq heures plus tard, dans l’intimité, dans le caveau familial du cimetière d’Ivry-sur-Seine.

15 heures 40: Nicolas Sarkozy pénètre seul sous le Dôme des Invalides. Près du tombeau en bronze du maréchal Ferdinand Foch, généralissime des armées alliées à la fin de la Grande Guerre, il dépose une gerbe devant une plaque dévoilée par deux collégiens.

La plaque porte les mots suivants: “Alors que disparaît le dernier combattant français de la première guerre mondiale, la Nation témoigne sa reconnaissance envers ceux qui ont servi sous ses drapeaux en 1914-1918. La France conserve précieusement le souvenir de ceux qui restent dans l’Histoire comme les Poilus de la Grande Guerre”.

16 heures: Dans une longue allocution, le président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy déclare notamment: “En cet instant, dans toute la France, la pensée de chacun se tourne vers ces femmes et ces hommes qui nous ont appris la grandeur du patriotisme qui est l’amour de son pays et la détestation du nationalisme qui est la haine des autres”.

17 heures: La cérémonie s’achève. Le choeur de l’Armée française interprète “La Madelon”, le chant des poilus.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy attacks Iran for its stance on Israel

French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Jewish community in Paris he would refuse to greet any world leader who refused to recognize Israel – a remark apparently ruling out any face-to-face meetings with Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Nicolas Sarkozy made the off-the-cuff remark in a speech to the French-Jewish community in which he reaffirmed his strong support for international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

“I won’t shake hands with people who refuse to recognize Israel,” Nicolas Sarkozy declared at an annual event hosted by the Representative Council of Jewish Organizations in France (CRIF).

Nicolas Sarkozy announced he would visit Israel in May to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel’s founding after a March visit to Paris by Israel President Shimon Peres.

© Ynet and Reuters

France’s new Kulturkampf

Newsweek International reports on the tendency of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to mix messages about policy and religion and says Sarkozy has drawn fire from some of France’s traditional secularists.

” ‘A man who believes is a man who hopes,’ said the president. ‘And the interest of the republic is that there be a lot of men and women who hope.’ He advocated a new ‘positive secularism’ that ‘doesn’t consider religions a danger, but an asset.’ And he declared, ‘In the transmission of values and in the teaching of the difference between good and evil, the schoolteacher will never be able to replace the priest or the pastor.’

Those are fighting words in strictly secular France. Suddenly, faith, once an entirely private affair, has infused the president’s political discourse. In Riyadh on January 14, Sarkozy referenced the Lord 13 times in a speech to Saudi Arabia’s Consultative Council, evoking a ‘transcendent God who is in the thoughts and the heart of every man.’ That was news to France’s estimated 15 million atheists and agnostics, a quarter of the country.”

Read full story.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s erratic public and personal life

Love Gained, Love Lost

by Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, member of the editorial board of the Washington Post

Washington, February 5, 2008

Enfin, the rumors confirmed! Last weekend, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France married his singer-supermodel sweetheart, Carla Bruni, in a 20-minute civil ceremony at the Elysée Palace, the French White House. A city official performed the service. The bridal party consisted of family members plus one or two fashionable friends. Apparently the bride wore white.

Somehow, though, the first French presidential nuptials since 1931 were not an entirely joyous national event.

Though a few people tried to say something nice about the wedding–“C’est formidable,” declared Bernadette Chirac, ex-first lady of France–the Sarkozy-Brunis woke up the following morning to news that the nation did not approve: Already on a downward trajectory, support for Sarkozy’s presidency has plunged. From a high of 67 percent last July, Sarkozy’s support in France had dropped to 54 percent in January. As of yesterday, this number had slipped to 41 percent, with more than three-quarters of the French pronouncing themselves annoyed by their head of state’s very public private life, in polling done before and after the presidential nuptials. For a country that treated news of Sarkozy’s divorce last year with a shrug of Gallic indifference, this is incredible.

True, this news did follow a flurry of new photographs of Bruni–sorry, Madame la Presidente–in various stages of undress (including some suspiciously recent pictures of the new first lady wearing nothing but black leather boots and a wedding ring). Nevertheless, I don’t believe that a hitherto undiscovered French prudishness is driving the surge of popular annoyance. The fact is that the private peccadilloes of a public figure loom largest when they seem to confirm his or her other character flaws. The Monica Lewinsky affair hurt Bill Clinton because it reminded everyone of the president’s reputation for political slipperiness. Sarkozy’s whirlwind romance is damaging because it reminds everyone that his public behavior is no less wacky and unpredictable than his private life.

Certainly this is true on the international stage, and especially in Europe, where diplomacy normally moves at the sedate pace of a Viennese waltz and where Sarkozy’s penchant for whirling off in all directions at once is, shall we say, unsettling. Indeed, “controlling Sarko,” as one Scandinavian politician put it to me, has now become a task for the entire European diplomatic corps.

At times this requires straightforward damage control: The French president seems, for example, to be obsessed by Turkey, whose accession to the European Union he wants to prevent at all costs. Allegedly he reads his foreign ministry’s Turkey dossiers personally and intervenes to prevent any language suggesting possible Turkish membership from appearing in any official document. Since barring Turkey isn’t actually E.U. policy yet, others are left to pick up the pieces.

But his colleagues have enough work just keeping track of him. Since becoming president, Sarkozy has opened a new military base in the United Arab Emirates, conducted (unsuccessful) peace negotiations in Lebanon, invited Moammar Gaddafi to Paris (where the Libyan leader cheerfully told the press he had not discussed any human rights issues with his French host) and promoted French nuclear energy technology while simultaneously pushing Iran to halt its own nuclear development. So far he’s visited some 20 countries. One French newspaper gleefully quoted King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia declaring that “President Sarkozy resembles a dashing and high-spirited thoroughbred, but like all thoroughbreds, he should submit to be reined in to find his balance.”

Sarkozy’s domestic policies reach in multiple directions, too. One bemused British columnist records that the French president has, since coming to office, “decided to launch a ‘Marshall plan’ for the suburbs, to ban advertisements on state television, to found 10 universities, to reform the 35-hour week, to protect French banks from sovereign wealth funds . . . and to tax mobile phones.” Sarkozy has also asked the economist Amartya Sen to find a way of including “quality of life” in French statistics, the philosopher Edgar Morin to outline a renaissance in the “politics of civilization” and the socialist Jacques Attali to come up with “300 decisions for changing France.”

Maybe this whirlwind of hyperactivity will eventually add up to something; certainly it makes a welcome change from the somnolence of the later Chirac years. But it definitely provides an uneasy context for a public romance. If Sarkozy were a staid and predictable politician, his tabloid love affair and abrupt marriage might be joyously embraced by a dewy-eyed nation. In present circumstances, it looks like one more madcap adventure to add to the growing list.

Reprinted with kindly permission of The American Enterprise Institute.

Le président du Conseil constitutionnel estime que la fonction présidentielle exige «une certaine retenue»

L’étalage public de la vie privée du Président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy irrite jusque sous les lambris du Palais-Royal, siège du Conseil constitutionnel, autorité suprême de la République.

Le président du Conseil constitutionnel, Jean-Louis Debré, proche de Jacques Chirac, estime qu’il faut «faire attention à ne pas désacraliser les fonctions officielles». “À partir du moment où vous avez reçu une mission du peuple, quelle que soit cette mission, il y a une certaine tenue à avoir”, confiait en substance Jean-Louis Debré, le 3 février 2008, à l’antenne de la radio de la communauté juive de Paris Radio-J, faisant allusion au tapage médiatique consécutif à l’annonce du mariage de Nicolas Sarkozy avec la célébrité de la jet-set Carla Bruni.

“Quand on regarde l’histoire du pays, aussi bien de Gaulle, Pompidou, Giscard, Mitterrand, Chirac, ont eu une certaine conception de leur rôle de président de la République, et cette conception était avec une certaine retenue. Ils incarnaient, ils incarnent la France”, ajoute Jean-Louis Debré.

“Je pense qu’il y a une certaine attitude à avoir quand on représente tous les Français et quand on incarne la France”, a-t-il poursuivi, tout en se défendant de “porter un jugement” sur Nicolas Sarkozy.