I posted last month on France’s requirements for their participation in an international conference on Iraq. I openly ridiculed their demands for inclusion of representatives of the terrorists at the table and a placement of U.S. withdrawal on the conference agenda. Well, now it seems the French have caved on one of their firm stances.
In a quiet retreat, France on Monday eased off its call to include Iraqi groups that renounce violence in an international conference next month on ways to pacify their war-ravaged country.
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier acknowledged that the governments-only meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik from Nov. 22-23 would not be open to other factions outside Iraq’s interim leadership.
“It’s an intergovernmental conference. I’m willing to recognize that only governments will participate,” Barnier told reporters after an informal meeting with European and North African counterparts.
There is no mention in the article of France’s other demand for discussion of an American withdrawal. To their credit, France’s “quiet retreat” is an improvement over their seeming tendency to run away screaming. Maybe there’s a shred of hope for them yet.