| Publications | France A-Z | France/U.S. Relations | France in the U.S. | News | Aller aux Etats-Unis | Just for Kids | Going to France | Contact |
|
Iraq/France/US
Letter of the Ambassador of France to the United States to the Editor of the Washington Times newspaper
Washington DC, September 9, 2004
Regrettable consequences I am writing with regard to “French connection armed Saddam” by Bill Gertz, which appeared on the front page of The Washington Times on September 8. If the allegations raised were not so serious, I would hail Mr. Gertz’s talents as a novelist, considering the way in which he reinvents recent history and persists in his fanciful stories on France’s support for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Repeating such allegations, however, does not make them true. According to Mr. Gertz, France sold dual-use and military parts to Iraq in the 1990s and up to early 2003. He also alleges that it provided blank French passports to Iraqi leaders. Mr. Gertz had already peddled these accusations last year and I had already rejected them in an open letter of May 15, 2003 (which I am attaching hereto). There is nothing new to support these gratuitous, serious and false accusations, apart from supposed quotes from “American officials” who remain anonymous throughout the cited excerpt. I had observed that the regrettable rash of fabricated articles and dubious anonymous sources that shook up the American press in recent months had made reporters and their editors extremely cautious about employing such “anonymous sources.” However such caution clearly does not apply to Mr. Gertz or to the editors of the Washington Times. Mr. Gertz’s articles are liable to have two types of consequences that I can only regret: - In the short term, Mr. Gertz may succeed in rekindling the flame of French-bashing, which might provide short term satisfaction to Mr. Gertz but which will not help solve the difficult situation we face in Iraq. French-bashing in the United States as well as anti-American sentiments in Europe are both dangerous trends that we must all do our best to combat. - In the longer term, History will easily show that Mr. Gertz’s wild imaginings are exactly that: the crudest inventions. His readers will then be enlightened as to the reliability of his writings. But in the meantime, Mr. Gertz will have helped tarnish the image of one of the most noble professions there is, a profession for which some at this very moment are risking their lives in Iraq and elsewhere: the profession of journalist. Jean-David Levitte
This Letter to the Editor was published by the Washington Times on September 9 2004
Embassy of France in the United States - September 9, 2004
|
