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 Support The DrudgeReport; Visit Our Advertisers  White House ;can't imagine'' French ambiguity on Iraq outcome Fri Mar 28 2003 13:23:12 ET Washington (dpa) - The White House on Friday commented on French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin's reported refusal to answer a question about which side he supported in the U.S.-led war against Iraq. ;I can't imagine that any nation that's an ally of ours would not have a thought on that,'' said Ari Fleischer, press secretary to U.S. President George W. Bush. ;That's how I would diplomatically reply.'' Earlier Friday, the French government was indignant over the way de Villepin's statement was portrayed. France has been a vocal opponent of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, and threatened to veto a United Nations resolution to authorize the forcible disarmament of Iraq. As a result, the U.S.-British led coalition went to war agaisnt Iraq alone. ;I'm not going to answer,'' de Villepin replied when asked Thursday in London which side he supported in Iraq. ;You have not been listening carefully to what I said before. You already have the answer''. The comment was widely interpreted to as ;reluctance to choose sides'', as London's Daily Telegraph reported. The French government was up in arms Friday over the fracas. ;We are indignant over the characterization this morning by certain correspondents of the comments made yesterday by the foreign minister ... on the outcome of the war in Iraq,'' French Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau said in Paris. ;In these circumstances, it is unacceptable that the positions of France are distorted or misrepresented in such a manner.'' Rivasseau reminded journalists in Paris that the French foreign minister had told France 2 television on March 24: ;We hope the United States will win this war''. Last week, the French ambassador to the United States Jean-David Levitte told a broadcaster that his country might assist U.S. and British troops if Iraq uses chemical or biological weapons in the war. END |
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