France: The Spider At The Center Of The Web
Written by Hilary Barnes
It looked as if Francois Hollande, President of France, was hung out to dry when he was jilted by his allies, first Prime Minister David Cameron, of the UK and then President Obama, after committing France to a punitive attack Syria to punish President el-Assad for the gas attacks on civilians on August 21.
David Cameron’s set back when the House of Commons rejected British engagement in an attack on Syria was not so hard to bear. It made France look good in the eyes of the Americans at the expense of Britain’s “special relationship” with Washington.
But President Hollande seemed very lonely when President Obama decined to seek the approval of the Congress for a strike on Syria, which finally resulted in the agreement with the Russians. It left things looking as though France alone might be involved in a punitive action, although that was never the intention, President Hollande said.
However, President Hollande gave an upbeat presentation of events to his electorate on Sunday evening in a half hour interview on prime-time television.
The Russo-American agreement would not have come about, he said, but for the pressure exercised by France.
France was he first to threaten an attack on Syria, followed by Washington.
“What would have happened if there had been no reaction? Would Bachar el-Assad have continued to use gas? French pressure convinced Russia to take the initiative, and so much the better.”
Of course, French, British and American diplomats have been in close contact throughout on the reaction to Syria’s use of gas, and also in discussions on the talks with Russia. But Hollande, not unnaturally, let the French know that France was the spider at the centre of this tangled web.
President Hollande takes the same line as the USA on the significance of the agreement with the Russians:
“It is an important step but it is not the point of arrival. The next step is to find a poltical solution to the crisis in Syria, and that we sall try to do at the general assembly of the United Nations at the end of September“.
Meanwhile it is was necessary to maintain the pressure on the Syrian government.
In addition,
“For us, the representatives of Syria, are the democratic opposition, not the radical Islamists. We want to be certain that those in charge of the political transition in Syria are the democrats. We do not want to install those whom we consider just as dangerous as Assad, and with whom we have fought in Mali.”