During the tense months building up to the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, then permanent representative of France to the United Nations, said he saw diplomacy working because of this combination of dialogue and power.
“It started with a brilliant, important speech by President Bush in front of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the of September 12, 2002. He proposed to the world to disarm Iraq,” said Levitte in October to John Hopkins University. “but to send this powerful message, probably 50,000 troops would have been enough. The moment 300,000 troops were deployed around Iraq I felt… the strong pressure to use them soon, fast.”
Three months later, in December, Levitte was given the post of French Ambassador to the United States. He took on the ambassadorship during a troubled period between France and the United States. During the first quarter of the year two republican lawmakers, representatives Bob Ney of Ohio and Walter Jones of North Carolina passed bills to rename French toast and French fries. An episode of the “Simpson’s” referred to the French as “cheese eating surrender monkeys.”
Judging by the sentiments expressed by Janis Cross at the Portland Country Club on October 26, 2004, some of this animosity remains.
“It’s very clear the French are not supporting us in Iraq or in any other effort,” she said.
Cross, students from around southern Maine and various VIPs were at the country club to hear Levitte speak about French-U.S. relations. The World Affairs Council of Maine invited Levitte as part of their “distinguished speakers program.”
His speech, “France and the United States in a World Transformed,” began by recognizing Maine’s rich French Heritage.
“I feel at home here in Maine, in Portland. Everybody speaks French including the mayor and his wife,” quipped Levitte before he addressed the more serious issues.
The speech, in large part, echoed comments Levitte had made two weeks earlier at John Hopkins University. He began with affirmations of the French-US relationship and explained why France was the best ally of the US in the war on terror. “Why? Simply because in the 1980s we suffered from a lot of French Islamic terror in our streets…because of the war in Lebanon. We had troops, you had troops, in Lebanon. You suffered terrible losses and we suffered terrible losses together.” also cited terrorist attacks in France in the mid 90s and the United States’ use of French intelligence.
“Thanks to French intelligence you were in a position to stop [a Nigerian terrorist] before he destroyed the LAX airport of Los Angeles.”
used the simile of a marriage to describe the French-US relationship several times. And, as he did in his speech to John Hopkins, he repeated a remark by Secretary of State Colin Powel.
“Colin Powell said the United States and France have been in marriage counseling for more than 200 years.” This drew laughs from the audience.
echoed previous sentiments from both President George W. Bush and Presidential candidate John Kerry. “We cannot fail in Iraq,” said Levitte. “When I say ‘we,’ it is the U.S., France, and the west.”
Failure, he said, would lead to civil war in Iraq.
“If you have a civil war in Iraq, beware. The Kurds will declare independence. Turkey will intervene… The Sunni [Muslims] will call on Saudi Arabia.”
After his speech, responded to several questions from the audience. While the questions covered many different topics and regions of the globe, several of them focused on the Muslim and Jewish populations in France.
Portland Mayor Nathan Smith ended the evening’s event by presenting with what he called “a very small token of our very deep gratitude,” a plaque from the World Affairs Council of Maine.
According to their mission statement, the World Affairs Council of Maine is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization seeking “to develop an informed public, aware of the political, cultural and economic factors that affect international relations.”
The World Affairs Council has office space on the USM campus, donated to them by the University. Through this arrangement, students at USM are given free or discounted admission to all events the Maine chapter hosts.
Previous international speakers include Geunter Wehrmann, the deputy German Consul, and Adel Al-Jubeir, the foreign affairs advisor to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
The next speaker, Charles Dunbar, professor of international relations at Boston University, the former ambassador to Qatar and Yemen, in November, will give a speech titled “The War on Terror – 2005-2008: Possible Coming Attractions.”
More information about the World Affairs Council of Maine can be found on their website (http://www.wacmaine.org). The online calendar of events also lists any upcoming World Affairs Council of Maine events.