vision? Like this. The 21st century shall be a Eurasian century, in
which European nations for the first time become Europe, under
Franco-German leadership, a Europe that recognizes Islam as a Eurasian
religion, an integral part of the Western Civilization that ought to have
existed but never did. And this Europe shall have a foreign policy of
their own, independent of Washington's, and come to terms with nuclear Iran, push the Jewish state from the sea to the river to give voting rights to Palestinians in the OPTs, and re-invite Turkey, a friend of Iran and Israel, in good faith to become a member of the European Union."
And where/how does Russia fit in this "Eurasian" vision? Gabriel Kolko thought Europe would eventually wean itself from America and become partners with Russia.
BobW
--- Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/16/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
> wrote:
> > [What are European leftists doing to stop this? If
> the sanctions are
> > tightened, I'll hold Cde Tomb responsible!]
> >
> > FT.com - October 16, 2007
> >
> > EU seeks to step up pressure on Tehran
> > By James Blitz in London and Fidelius Schmid in
> Brussels
> <snip>
> > However, the EU made no mention of a French call
> for EU states
> > immediately to consider European sanctions without
> first waiting for
> > the United Nations Security Council to act.
> >
> > Instead, EU foreign ministers said the EU should
> consider what
> > additional measures it might take "in order to
> support the UN process".
> >
> > The main thrust of international pressure on Iran
> over its nuclear
> > programme continues to come from the UN. The US,
> Britain and France
> > are strongly pressing for a new round of sanctions
> to be imposed at
> > the end of this year unless it suspends uranium
> enrichment, a process
> > which many states believe is aimed at giving
> Tehran a nuclear weapon.
> <snip>
> > France triggered controversy last month by
> appearing to propose that
> > the EU should apply a raft of new sanctions
> outside of the UN
> > process. Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign
> minister, had suggested
> > the EU might consider extending the number of
> Iranian banks that are
> > subjected to sanctions; or target individuals
> beyond those whose
> > assets have been frozen or who face visa bans.
> >
> > However, EU diplomats said last night's decision
> reflects a
> > compromise, under which the EU will first wait to
> see what action is
> > taken by the UN after the IAEA reports.
> >
> > A number of EU states - such as Germany - say the
> EU must not start
> > applying a raft of sanctions wholly outside the UN
> framework, arguing
> > that this would risk fragmenting the UN process.
> However, Mr Kouchner
> > last night said that if there was no agreement on
> a new round of UN
> > sanctions by the end of this year, then the EU
> must "look at more
> > individual kinds of sanctions".
>
> In the new alignment of the US, the UK, and France,
> the weakest link
> is, of course, France.
>
> Socialists are not sold on Bernard Kouchner's line,*
> and Sarko the
> American is likely to prove as much of a divider**
> as Bush.
>
> The French Left, however, need a vision thing. What
> kind of vision?
> Like this. The 21st century shall be a Eurasian
> century, in which
> European nations for the first time become Europe,
> under Franco-German
> leadership, a Europe that recognizes Islam as a
> Eurasian religion, an
> integral part of the Western Civilization that ought
> to have existed
> but never did. And this Europe shall have a foreign
> policy of their
> own, independent of Washington's, and come to terms
> with nuclear Iran,
> push the Jewish state from the sea to the river to
> give voting rights
> to Palestinians in the OPTs, and re-invite Turkey, a
> friend of Iran
> and Israel, in good faith to become a member of the
> European Union.
>
> *
>
<http://nogent-sur-oise.parti-socialiste.fr/2007/09/17/iran-declaration-de-bernard-kouchner/>
> 17 septembre 2007
> IRAN : Déclaration de Bernard Kouchner
>
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
>
> Mohammad EL BARADEI, Directeur général de l'AIEA,
> déploie des efforts
> considérables pour tenter de trouver une solution à
> la crise, en
> mettant en place une méthode de solution des
> principaux points en
> litiges et fait état des signaux encourageants en ce
> sens.
>
> Il ne voit pas aujourd'hui de danger clair
> concernant le programme
> nucléaire iranien. C'est le moment qu'ont choisi
> Nicolas SARKOZY et
> son ministre des Affaires Etrangères pour préconiser
> des sanctions
> hors Nations Unies et des préparatifs de guerre. La
> position de
> Nicolas SARKOZY, s'engageant à nouveau dans un
> scénario à l'Irakienne
> ne peut s'expliquer que par son alignement sur
> l'administration Bush.
> Cet alignement affaiblit l'autorité de l'ONU, met en
> danger la
> crédibilité, les intérêts et la sécurité de la
> France et est en
> contradiction avec les engagements de notre pays au
> Moyen-Orient.
>
> Le Parti socialiste estime que l'AIEA doit mener
> jusqu'au bout la
> procédure de vérification du programme nucléaire
> iranien et la mise en
> œuvre d'un système rigoureux de contrôles
> internationaux. La France ne
> peut s'engager avec autant de légèreté dans des
> confrontations
> militaires dans une région si instable et
> mouvementée.
>
> Le Parti socialiste demande qu'un débat soit engagé
> rapidement au
> Parlement sur ce dossier.
>
> Communiqué du Secrétariat international
>
> **
>
<http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=7926794>
> French transport to stand still in first major
> strikes against Sarkozy's reforms
>
> The Associated Press
> Wednesday, October 17, 2007
>
> PARIS: Strikes starting Wednesday night will disrupt
> flights to and
> from France, affect train routes in Europe and leave
> Paris virtually
> stripped of public transport — protests against
> President Nicolas
> Sarkozy's plans to trim special retirement packages
> for some workers.
>
> The strikes, to last through Thursday, confront the
> popular president
> with his first real challenge since he took France's
> helm in May, and
> send him a clear message that deeper reforms could
> come at a cost.
>
> The walkout is just one of the clouds forming over
> Sarkozy: The
> economy is lagging despite his pledges to invigorate
> it, signs of
> discord over his policies are cracking his party —
> and his rocky
> marriage is front-page news.
>
> The president himself appeared unfazed, saying
> Tuesday night he would
> push through the reforms regardless of public
> protest because "That's
> what I was elected for."
>
> A union leader, meanwhile, threatened even more
> strikes if the
> government did not negotiate on the retirement
> rights.
>
> While France's strikes are legendary, the country
> has not had any
> serious ones since Sarkozy took office. This week's
> action could be
> the biggest in years.
>
> Labor leaders hoped the walkout would recall 1995
> strikes that
> paralyzed the country and sapped then-President
> Jacques Chirac's
> appetite for reform.
>
>
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