SamSaid!

A LETTER

Dear Mr. Chirac:

     I can't tell you how pleased we were to receive your letter in which you offered the services of your Government in the rebuilding of Iraq in the aftermath of ridding that country of its despotic leader and his thuggish comrades in the Baath party. We have a monumental task on our hands and can use all the help we can get from all quarters. It is particularly gratifying to have the support of a country like France, with all of its rich legacies and traditions bequeathed to modern society by such giant thought leaders as Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and of course, LaFayette. Creating a free, open, democratic government from the ashes of a terrible war will be a task of no mean consequence, but we are confident of success.

     At first blush, it strikes us that France can be beneficial in building a country from the rock bottom base of a crushing military defeat. As you know, the USA has no personal experiences along that line, never having experienced one; however, France seems to be well qualified based on its own military experiences over the past 150 years. On the opposite side of the coin , the USA seems better equipped at nation building since it has done very well in South Korea, Japan and Germany. Maybe it is not a stretch to say the the USA knows the view from top down while France knows the view from the bottom up.

     As you know, US taxpayers are being asked to spent $80-100 Billion to depose Saddam and then re-build the Iraq. While lots of late-comers have quickly volunteered to tackle the post-war project, there are millions of Americans who are inclined to say that if we spent the money, took all the  risks and made the big sacrifices, we should have the biggest say-so in how the whole show is run after the last shot is fired. I'm sure you can understand that simple logic. And I would urge you not to ignore the young Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice and will not be coming home to loved ones. Of course if your thinking was not affected by the 100,000 Americans buried in your soil, we have little reason to believe that the position of your government would be affected by a smaller number staying in Iraq.

     One of our main objectives in establishing a Post-war Iraqi Governement is instilling values into the political system  –  such as honesty, intergity, and popular welfare. To be perfectly honest, some Americans are bothered by the willingness of France to aid and abet Saddam thru lucrative contracts  –  oil and military supplies  –  for 12 years after Gulf War I. It seems to us that your country materially and knowingly aided Saddam in perpetuating his reign of terror. And in re your UN behavior this past March, you obviously saw no reason why he could not indefinitely continue in his dictatorial ways while futile weapons searches continued. We really have a problem in presenting these kinds of unprincipled actions by France as the kinds of values to underly a new Government. Is this the kind of conduct we would have a new Iraq emulate?

     Certainly, we must be big enough to overlook these trivial differences betwen your country and ours. So it's a lot of money and a few dead soldiers. We must keep matters in perspective. With that in mind, you may be assured that we will keep close at hand  your generous offer to help re-build Iraq now that the war is over and Saddam is gone. And, of course, we appreciate the immense sacrifices the French Government is willing to make in order to bear your full share of responsibility (or is it opportunity?).

     All of this brings to mind an American saying with which you may or may not be familiar, “Don't call us, we'll call you”!

                                              Regards,