Look what the "American neocon" French president just said

CNN reports:

Sarkozy told reporters in Libya that to consider the Arab world "is not sensible enough to use civilian nuclear power" would, in the long run, risk a "war of civilizations".

"Nuclear power is the energy of the future," he said. "If we don't give the energy of the future to the countries of the southern Mediterranean, how will they develop themselves? And if they don't develop, how will we fight terrorism and fanaticism?"

And the neocons are supposed to be the Arabs' worst enemies?

This reminds me of what Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis, another notorious neocon, once said. As Peter Waldman reported in the Wall Street Journal:

Up on the podium, Mr. Lewis lambasted the belief of some Mideast experts at the State Department and elsewhere that Arabs weren't ready for democracy -- that a "friendly tyrant" was the best the U.S. could hope for in Iraq. "That policy," he quipped, "is called 'pro-Arab.' "

Others, like himself, believe Iraqis are heirs to a great civilization, one fully capable, "with some guidance," of democratic rule, he said. "That policy," he added with a rueful smile, "is called 'imperialism.' "

France's new foreign minister

On Bernard Kouchner, founder of Medicenes Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders - and yes, I do know the French name is supposed to have accents but I can't figure out how to do that). Here's a brief profile of the man appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy, the new French president.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Kouchner was one of the few in France’s political elite to justify military intervention against Saddam Hussein — on humanitarian grounds, not because Iraq might be seeking weapons of mass destruction. “It was a question of overthrowing an evil dictator, and it was right to intervene,” Mr. Kouchner said in 2004.

He has said that Turkey is part of Europe and deserves to join the European Union; Mr. Sarkozy says that Turkey is part of Asia, not Europe, and should never become a member.

Mr. Kouchner appears to support the maintenance of a strong international — and French — presence in Afghanistan to bring stability to the country; Mr. Sarkozy has promised that French troops will not stay there forever.

“On Turkey, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the third world and Africa, we’re not close,” Mr. Kouchner acknowledged in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “I’m against his idea of selective immigration. On other issues — the Middle East, on the need for an alliance with America, on the role of France in Europe — we’re not so far apart."

As Richard C. Holbrooke, the former American ambassador to the U.N. told the Times: “It’s an amazing appointment, a stunning event in French foreign policy,” said Mr. Holbrooke, who the Times describes 'as one of the new foreign minister's closest friends. “He’s motivated by an antitotalitarian drive whether he sees injustice from the left or the right. It will be very positive for U.S.-French relations, because he does not come with a visceral anger towards the American ‘hyperpower.’”

"American neocon" wins French presidency

First, who says immigrants can't succeed in France?

Nicolas Sarkozy, the 52-year-old son of a Hungarian immigrant was just elected president of the Republic.

His wife has foreign roots too according to the Agence France Presse, which describes the new French first lady as being of Jewish-Spanish ancestry who was quoted as making it abundantly clear back in 2004 that she did "not have a drop of French blood in my veins."

Being pro-American apparently didn't hurt the French president-elect either. 53 percent of the French voted for someone referred to by friends and foes alike as "the American," according to Agence France Presse, because of "his unabashed praise of US society, its dynamism and meritocracy."

Some people have even gone so far as to describe Sarkozy as an "American neo-conservative with a French passport."

So what is this new American neocon French president going to do? According to the French news agency:

France's new leader is expected to pursue Chirac's policy on Iraq by upholding calls for a deadline for US troop withdrawal, as well as on Iran and the Middle East peace process.

Though he says he will fight for tough sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he opposes military intervention. While seen as close to Israel, he insists he gives equal importance to Palestinian statehood and Israeli security.

As to other areas of interest to readers of this blog: Sarkozy is said to "fiercely oppose" Turkish entry to the European Union as it would mean the "death of political Europe" -- to quote the AFP report again.

And in other regions of concern, the AGF reports:

Sarkozy has promised an overhaul of relations with France's former African colonies, tacitly criticising Chirac's "personal" ties with the leaders of questionable regimes.

He also says France's military presence in Africa -- 10,000 soldiers in five permanent military bases -- should be kept to a minimum, handing over to an African Union force when possible.

On Africa's bloodiest conflict, in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, he has called for "urgent" action, warning that Khartoum would be made to face international justice for its actions in the region.

Sarkozy strongly opposed calls by election rivals for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics to force China -- Sudan's most important international ally -- to back international action in Darfur.

But he has vowed as president to confront rights violations committed by powerful allies -- citing the question of political freedoms in China and the in Russia's war-torn southern republic of Chechnya.