Another view of France's collusion with Iraq -- The Philadelphia Talk Radio Politics and Opinion Forum

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Date Posted: 14:19:04 03/21/03 Fri
Author: William
Author Host/IP: cache-dq01.proxy.aol.com / 205.188.209.133
Subject: Another view of France's collusion with Iraq

Britain reveals France's �135m exports to Iraq
\n
\nNicholas Watt, political correspondent
\nFriday March 21, 2003
\nThe Guardian
\n
\nBritain intensified its propaganda campaign against France yesterday by releasing figures showing that Paris has exported goods worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Iraq.
\n
\nThe government published a detailed breakdown of trade figures which allegedly show that France is "stretching" the rules of UN sanctions.
\n
\nPatricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, claimed that in the first six months of last year France exported goods worth $212.5m (�135m) to Iraq. Germany exported goods worth $203.8m. In the same period Britain exported goods worth $27.8m.
\n
\nThe figures were released in a parliamentary written answer hours before Tony Blair was due to meet Jacques Chirac at an EU summit in Brussels. No formal commentary was attached, but the clear intention was to to undermine French claims that it is opposing the war on moral grounds.
\n
\nGovernment sources said the figures showed that France was stretching UN security council resolution 661, which tightly restricts exports to Iraq. Under the oil-for-food programme foreign companies are allowed to export machinery solely to maintain existing refineries.
\n
\nOne source said: "We interpret resolution 661 very strongly. We interpret that to mean that it is illegal to do other than maintain what is there [in terms of exports for the oil industry]. Clearly the French and the Germans have done more than that."
\n
\nJack Straw, the foreign secretary, insisted yesterday that relations with his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, were "very good".

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