Word: kouchner
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...more example, along with the new U.N. mandate, the neighbors conference process and recent announcements by Saudi Arabia to open an embassy and forgive Saddam-era debt, of a growing international desire to help Iraq become a stable and secure country," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe commented of Kouchner's visit...
...Symbolism and gesture have become staples of French President Nicolas Sarkozy since taking office three months ago, and his dispatching of Kouchner to Iraq is clearly another example. The U.S.-pleasing trip also guaranteed Sarkozy headlines his first day back on the job following a two-week vacation in New Hampshire - during which he created much media buzz with his July 12 private lunch with U.S. President George W. Bush at his family's Kennebunkport, Maine, summer home. The result was much-hyped warmth over what one Elysée official called the miracle of the two men "being able...
...Though French Foreign Ministry officials say Kouchner's visit to Iraq was not discussed during that encounter - and arose from a visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani - it's evident the mission was designed to smooth over multiple diplomatic rough spots with one dramatic gesture. "Now we are turning the page; there is a new perspective," Kouchner told reporters following his arrival in Baghdad Sunday, speaking language destined as much for U.S. officials as his Iraqi hosts. "We want to talk about the future. Democracy, integrity, sovereignty, reconciliation and stopping the killings...
...Kouchner's involvement gave the visit an added symbolism, considering his own views on the issue of the Iraq war. Unlike Sarkozy himself, Kouchner was one of the few leading French politicians who voiced conditional backing of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, arguing the removal of Saddam Hussein would strike a blow in favor of humanitarian principles. Upon becoming France's head diplomat, Kouchner listed greater French interest in Iraq as one of his priorities, alongside a more active role in conflicts in Darfur, Kosovo and Lebanon. Finally, Kouchner's visit began on the fourth anniversary of the truck...
...sell to the Bush Administration, which insisted on the military adventure in Iraq in the first place; harder still to the myriad insurgent groups battling U.S.-led forces in Iraq, and prepared to use any means to advance their often mutually hostile extremist ideologies. Indeed, just hours after Kouchner's arrival signaled France's return to Iraq, a roadside bomb killed the second important Iraqi provincial official within a week, while a separate attack in a Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad claimed 12 lives...