Word: mitterrand
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...gulf. When Desert Storm began, there had been fears that the 12,600-strong French contingent, reluctant to accept U.S. leadership, might stand aloof from the coalition's integrated command structure, much as France does in NATO, perhaps even disdaining to fight. During the countdown to hostilities, President Francois Mitterrand had courted British and American anger by launching an eleventh- hour peace proposal that would have handed Saddam Hussein a diplomatic victory by rewarding an Iraqi withdrawal with the convening of a Middle East peace conference...
...Mitterrand was the deciding influence in France's fortitude. There were understandable reasons for his initial go-it-alone diplomacy. Iraq had long been France's best customer in the Middle East arms bazaar: Paris was owed about $3 billion for past weapons deliveries when Iraq invaded Kuwait. But more than markets and money was at stake. Mitterrand had to consider the legacy of General Charles de Gaulle, who believed it was part of France's destiny to develop a special relationship with the Arab world. The President also had to weigh the probable impact of his actions on neighboring...
...Mitterrand's fine-tuned political instincts told him that in the face of battle, talk of French independence -- "la difference francaise" -- could not be maintained without loss of credibility at home and abroad. Once Saddam had rejected France's last-minute peace bid, Mitterrand put everything behind securing an allied victory, telling aides, "We are face-to- face with history." He forced the resignation of his anti-American Defense Minister, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, a co-founder of the Franco-Iraqi Friendship Association who had tried to limit any military action by France strictly to Kuwaiti territory. French forces...
Originally the allies planned to have Bush, Major and French President Francois Mitterrand deliver a new allied ultimatum in simultaneous announcements in Washington, London and Paris. They decided, however, to let Bush speak for the alliance. Only minutes after one final phone call, to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Bush stepped into the Rose Garden and in measured, determined tones set the Saturday noon deadline by which Saddam had to declare "publicly and authoritatively" that he accepted the allied terms, which spokesman Marlin Fitzwater spelled out shortly after. The time for a pullout was lengthened to a week because some...
None of this means that peace is at hand. Even if Saddam tries to come up with a formula for withdrawal from Kuwait that would satisfy the allies, there is no assurance he can do so. Bush, Major and French President Francois Mitterrand all stressed last week that the U.N. demands for immediate and unconditional withdrawal mean exactly that, and they will settle for nothing less. Moreover, said all three, promises will not suffice; until Saddam actually begins a massive withdrawal, the war, and the bombing specifically, will continue as if nothing had happened...