French leaders hope to slow the shift in European public opinion against the US bombardment in Afghanistan by proposing a more nuanced approach to the war.
President Jacques Chirac doubtless had opinion polls in mind when he proposed an emergency international conference on aid for Afghanistan to the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, on Tuesday evening. Some 47 per cent of the French population believe the US military intervention is failing; only 17 per cent believe it is succeeding.
Mr Chirac's proposal will be part of a Franco-British draft resolution that should be adopted by a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council late next week. The emergency aid conference, which could take place in Paris, would bring together donor states, Afghanistan's neighbours, UN agencies and humanitarian organisations.
At a White House meeting between Mr Bush and Mr Chirac on Tuesday, the US President was as categorical as ever, again para-phrasing Christ in the book of Matthew, "He that is not with me is against me."
Mr Chirac attempted to convey three points: that there can be no military victory in Afghanistan without a concomitant political solution; that the Security Council must put its full support behind Mr Annan's special representative for Afghanistan, Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "provides grist for the mill of terrorism" and must be resolved. Mr Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister who masterminded an end to the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, is to meet with Mr Chirac at the ElysΘΘ Palace today. Yesterday the French President was to receive Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, and the President of Pakistan, Gen Pervez Musharraf.
French sources said Mr Bush was receptive to Mr Chirac's pleas for a political initiative and support for the UN envoy, but he refused to link the Palestinian problem with Islamic extremism. US media covering Mr Chirac's visit to Washington and New York claimed France was pre-occupied with opinion among its own Arab Muslim minority, and noted Paris' alleged leniency towards Iraq. France has long opposed continuing economic sanctions against Baghdad. Earlier this week, the French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert VΘdrine, gently criticised US airstrikes against Afghanistan. "The airstrikes having hit most of the main targets, I would hope that the Americans will move swiftly to the following phase, that is to say action on the ground, which does not have the same visibility - and the political process," Mr VΘdrine told the "Grand debat RTL-Le Monde" broadcast.
Suggestions by Mr Chirac and Mr VΘdrine have repeated elements of a French plan for Afghanistan first presented on October 1st. Mr Chirac stressed that military action was "indispensable" but "not the only way to fight against international terrorism". But hints of French reticence sit uneasily with rivalry among major European powers for a role in the Afghan crisis. It was not by chance that Mr Chirac announced the participation of 2,000 French servicemen in the US operations on the same day German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroeder, said he was mobilising 3,900 German troops. French servicemen were already contributing, Mr Chirac said - although not under US orders. Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, quickly added that France was "ready to intensify our support, particularly naval, if we are asked".
Under the code name "Heracles", France has mobilised six ships from Djibouti and the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Two "spy planes" and an electronic warfare aircraft are reportedly operating from Saudi Arabia.
