This link, these unbeguiling words:
Quai d'Orsay, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Paris, France
September 7, 2013
FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: (Via interpreter) -- Kerry. I would like to commend both your energy and your ability to convince as well as your very reliable judgment or point of view. Together with the Secretary of State we discussed a number of topics, including, of course, Israel and Palestine and as well Syria, of course.
Let me start with a few comments. What we’ve been seeing very clearly over the past few days, notwithstanding a number of side comments of briefings, the first one is that the Damascus chemical massacre is proven and bears a signature. It is Mr. Bashar al-Assad who is the only one to hold the arm that was used for the massacre and to be in a position to use it, and he did use it. And we have to keep back to this because these are the facts.
In addition, and it is also what explains the fact that when people are comparing to the situation in Iraq, it has nothing to do. You remember that France did not participate in the intervention in Iraq. But at the time, the weapons of mass destruction did not exist, therefore, it was a mistake to go there; whereas, here, weapons of mass destruction exist and the fault, the mistake would be not to sanction.
Second, this massacre requires a strong reaction in order to sanction and in order to deter for an obvious reason which everybody will understand. Mr. Bashar al-Assad – as was said by the Secretary General of the United Nations, said this is a crime against humanity and we have to deter him from doing it again.
Then there is a third element which is obvious, even though it may require some thinking. The sanction is not in contradiction with a political solution. It is a prerequisite. Mr. Bashar al-Assad will not join any negotiation as long as he believes he is invincible.
From that, people were saying that France and the United States would be isolated. It is pretty much the opposite, and let me get back to what happened over the past 48 or 72 hours. Now, seven out of the eight G-8 countries share our views as to the necessity of a strong reaction. Twelve of the 20 G-20 countries, including Germany now, share in this reaction. And this morning, the 28 countries of the European Union supported the number of key elements: first, the 21st of August massacre is an abominable crime, it is a crime against humanity, it is a crime of war. [...]
Saying it, even saying it ad nauseam, does not make it so. Was this Frenchman there, on the ground, observing? "They fell around me like dominoes, I witnessed it but lived to tell." Or did someone tell him this and that - about such and so - with a due admonition to believe and say it is how things went down in Damascus? Perhaps the Frenchman is so certain because he had an epiphany of some kind while on the road headed there. You tell me.
Perhaps the simplemindedness was because of a limited skill set of the State Department interpreter? You think so?
Words delivered with yet more Coalition of the Willing flim-flam stirred in to boot.
"Even the Germans" this Frenchman noted.
There is history, isn't there?
My man of the moment, Francis, holding out. This link, proving our government pundits understand the Pope's no dope. Or is it that they understand selling unpopularity requires feigned sympathies, (so long as they are not voiced any louder or longer than the building drumbeat)?