NYC Letter: "Crise Internationale" ! Tout Le Monde Croise Les Doigts !

When last we left the EU3 they had just received some bad news from Iran. Everyone was sad at the thought of global nuclear immolation.

Then somebody, some brave little person, a French person, had an idea: Let's be extra nice and ask Iran very nicely to please read the EU3 proposal again. A little more slowly.

Sugar! Honey! Ice tea! Everyone in the EU3 was happy again.

FRANCE URGES IRAN TO STUDY EU PROPOSALS CAREFULLY

PARIS August 8, 2005 (Agencies) - "Faced with the first, negative reactions from Iran, I urge its leaders to give themselves the time to examine these proposals with care," [French Foreign Minister Philippe] Douste-Blazy told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper in an early release of an interview published on Sunday.

"We hope the Iranians will study our proposals very closely," he said.

"We are ready to talk to them when they want to. But if they want to resume their sensitive nuclear activities in a unilateral manner, we cannot remain immobile."

(See earlier post: Tout Le Monde Court !)

But what if Iran continued being mean? Again the brave little French person echoed a French visionary who had seen this very problem:

"If Iran was to still not listen to our call for reason, we would be led to take the issue before the Security Council," Douste-Blazy said.

CHIRAC WARNS IRAN OF SECURITY COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT

PARIS July 22, 2005 (AFP) - "I hope that they will end favourably and eliminate the danger of proliferation," the French leader said in the text of his [Haaretz] newspaper interview, which was provided to AFP by his office.

"If that is not the case then it will naturally fall to the Security Council to consider the question."

Hurrah! Iran would become the problem of the 1540 Committee and the IAEA.

Everyone in the EU3 was happy again.

So the EU3 proposal was rejected by Iran but not for want of French sandbagging America:

US SKEPTICAL OVER EUROPE'S APPROACH TO IRAN

PARIS August 5, 2005 (AFP) - "I have to say that the United States has followed our negotiations with enormous scepticism, thinking that it will lead nowhere and that we are being duped by the Iranians," said the [French] diplomat, who was briefing journalists on condition of anonymity. Britain, France and Germany welcomed US President George W Bush's reserved support earlier this year of the EU initiative to have Iran drop parts of its nuclear programme that could be used for military purposes in exchange for trade and security cooperation deals.

"That made our job easier and allowed us to show the Iranians that we had not a backing of the Americans but an understanding of the task," the diplomat said.

Nothing like showing a weak hand. Well, it surely made Iran's call easier.

"That hasn't stopped the Americans continuing to watch us with deep scepticism. We don't consult them as such, but we are telling the Americans what direction we're going in without providing details on all of our positions," he said.

Yes, seems like GWB got it right and the Iranians have rewarded the clever M. Anonyme with bupkis.