Baghdad to Paris: The undying axis
"We are opening our door to France, and are inviting it to take advantage of the opportunity we are offering it. It would be as much your interest as ours."
This quote, recounted by journalist Chris Kutschera in his Black Book of Saddam Hussein, is one that could well be attributed to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who just a few months ago invited French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to provide his country with "high quality military equipment."
Yet, the open-ended offer is one that was in fact extended by Saddam to then French prime minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas in June 1972, over three decades ago.
Nothing better than this quid pro quo can convey the permanence of mutual interests in the close relations Paris and Baghdad have enjoyed ever since the early days of the Baath regime. France was in Iraq from the start, and now that its dictatorial partner has gone, it seems poised to take another run at living up to the war-torn country's expectations.
Read Andrew's full analysis of the renewal of French-Iraqi ties in ISN's Security Watch.
Andrew D. Bishop
Andrew is a graduate of the London School of Economics currently working for the think tank branch of a leading non-profit foundation in Geneva, Switzerland. He was also a young freelance journalist and the founder, director, and editor of Leader's Talk, a platform dedicated to covering interviews given by world leaders on a daily basis. Andrew blogs at What You Must Read
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