Word: visits
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...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...
Unlike some Western officials who visit Baghdad, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had no national troops to buck up when he began his surprise three-day visit Sunday. After all, Paris opposed the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein, with warnings of dire consequences that have mostly come to pass. So what was Kouchner's purpose in the Iraqi quagmire that most of his countrymen look to with "we told you so" dismay? In large part, to send the clear signal to Washington that France is determined to continue mending diplomatic relations that deteriorated, in large part, over Iraq...
...been lost on us that the road to Washington passes through Baghdad, and we happily took note that the U.S. was the first to react to [Kouchner's] visit with praise," a French Foreign Affairs Ministry official told TIME of this first voyage to Iraq by a government official from France since the war began. However, the official also acknowledged that beyond the message sent to America about French desire to replace past conflict with diplomatic partnership on Iraq, Kouchner's visit wouldn't produce much in the way of hard results. "It's of symbolic significance," he said...
...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...