And then subsequent to that, with Hans Blix on the ground receiving cooperation from Saddam Hussein that he didn't get while inspecting back during the Gulf War, France had this to say, NOTE THE LARGE APPLAUSE WHEN FINISHED.
France - On 20 January 2003, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said, "We think that military intervention would be the worst possible solution," although France believed that Iraq may have had an ongoing chemical and nuclear weapons program. Villepin went on to say that he believed the presence of UN weapons inspectors had frozen Iraq's weapons programs. France also suggested that it would veto any resolution allowing military intervention offered by the US or Britain. The most important French speech during the crisis was made by De Villepin at the Security Council on the 14 February 2003, after Hans Blix presented his detailed report (see below). De Villepin detailed the three major risks of a "premature recourse to the military option", especially the "incalculable consequences for the stability of this scarred and fragile region". He said that "the option of war might seem a priori to be the swiftest, but let us not forget that having won the war, one has to build peace". He emphasized that "real progress is beginning to be apparent" through the inspections, and that, "given the present state of our research and intelligence, in liaison with our allies", the alleged links between al-Qaeda and the regime in Baghdad explained by Colin Powell were not established. He concluded by referring to the dramatic experience of "old Europe" during World War II. This "impassioned" speech "against war on Iraq, or immediate war on Iraq", won "an unprecedented applause", reported the BBC's Sir David Frost (BBC News). The complete text is available at the Embassy of France in the United States. Britain and the US sharply criticized France for this position in March 2003.[citation needed]
And that led to the babies on capital hill changing the cafaterias French fries to freedom fries! Oh dear.
United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
But besides all that Grant, my concerns and criticisms lay with the US government as an American, I care about how MY TAX DOLLARS are being used and how our military is being used around world. And the French were right with their concern that Iraq would be left destabilized, just take a look today!!