On Thursday, French President Jacques Chirac threateningly signalled a willingness to unleash his nation’s nuclear weaponry against terrorist states, a move some see as a French counter to American power.
By warning that France could use nuclear weapons against state sponsors of terrorism, President Jacques Chirac is signalling that the United States does not have a monopoly on nuclear deterrence, analysts said.
French experts also agreed that Chirac’s speech on Thursday did not mark a fundamental policy shift but rather a refinement of current nuclear doctrine. Chirac’s unexpected warning to “rogue” states was intended to show that “one does not leave the monopoly of deterrence to the Americans”, argued Dominique Moisi, of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
“It was a Gaullist-inspired speech aimed at giving renewed legitimacy to France’s deterrent arsenal, within the context of Europe,” he said.
Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), also saw the message as an assertion of nuclear independence from the United States, but one aimed at France’s European partners. “Jacques Chirac wants to give credibility to the European Union’s strategic autonomy,” Maulny said – despite the fact that, according to one military expert, most European nations wish to remain under the US nuclear umbrella.
Whatever Chirac’s motivation, and a contrary position the the U.S. would not be a surprising one for the man, the effectiveness of the statement should be considered.
France and Britain are the only EU nations to have nuclear arsenals. Asked whether Britain would consider using nuclear arms against state sponsors of terrorism, the British Foreign Office said its policy was not to give advance warning of its intended response to specific threats.
Meanwhile, Maulny questioned the strategic wisdom of Chirac’s decision to clarify French strategic doctrine in the face of emerging threats.
“Is this necessary? That’s not certain. Because the doctrine of deterrence is all the more effective when it stays vague. “Under (late presidents) De Gaulle and Mitterrand, the doctrine was simply to say: ‘I have nuclear weapons and I will not hesitate to use them.’”
In a wide-ranging policy speech, Chirac warned on Thursday that any state that sponsored a terrorist attack – or was considering using weapons of mass destruction – against France, would be laying itself open to a nuclear attack. Although no specific country was mentioned, Chirac was understood to be referring to Iran. The West is currently engaged in an escalating dispute with Tehran over its nuclear programme and is seeking to win guarantees from Iran that it is not developing nuclear arms.
While I am certainly opposed to publicly stating that any means by which a country may carry out its defense is off the table, it is also rash to essentially brag about a willingness to employ all of those means. Still, for once I cannot be too hard on Chirac; it is better to stumble strongly than wobble weakly.
Others around the globe have also expressed concern about Chirac’s statement.
Chirac May Spur Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions, German Lawmaker Says
French President Jacques Chirac’s threat to use nuclear weapons against states that might resort to using weapons of mass destruction may make it harder to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear program, a German lawmaker said.
“I’m concerned that Iran will use these comments as a pretext to underline its own interests and that it will make negotiations more difficult rather than easier,” Eckart von Klaeden, a foreign policy spokesman in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said in an interview in Berlin.
Arab News Editorial: Chirac’s Nuclear Threat
French President Chirac’s announcement on Thursday that France would consider using nuclear weapons against any country that launches a terrorist attack against it is political bombshell. Not even George Bush has gone as far as saying that, even though he might like to. Chirac’s threat is alarming. Clearly, had Al-Qaeda flown hijacked planes into the Eiffel Tower or the Montparnasse Tower rather than the World Trade Towers, Chirac might have nuked Kabul. Again, not even George Bush considered that — or if he did, he wisely kept quiet about it.
Chirac’s nuclear policy speech draws fire across Europe
French president Jacques Chirac drew scorching criticism in Europe today for threatening a nuclear response to state-sponsored terrorism.
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The speech sparked widespread criticism in the European media.
“Jacques Chirac is an idiot,†chided Belgian daily De Morgen in an editorial. “He lives in a time where France is no longer a world power, but he’s still acting as if prolonging a Napoleonic dynasty.â€
Spain’s El Pais called the speech “radical and dangerous”.
Iran denounces Chirac’s warning of nuclear response
Iran on Saturday denounced as “unacceptable” recent comments by French President Jacques Chirac that France could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Chirac’s threats last Thursday reflect the true intentions of nuclear powers, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
“The French President uncovered the covert intentions of nuclear powers in using this lever (nuclear weapons) to determine political games,” IRNA quoted Asefi as saying.
Cuban leader expresses concern about Iranian nuclear dispute
Cuban President Fidel Castro expressed concern Saturday about the nuclear dispute between Iran and countries including the United States and France, urging all countries to refrain from using nuclear weapons.
The Cuban leader chided France for recent comments by President Jacques Chirac that his country could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack. Castro also accused the United States of searching for an excuse to attack Iran.
“It is very worrisome that this alliance of countries is proclaiming the right to use nuclear weapons against ‘terrorist’ states,” Castro said in a live appearance on the daily Cuban TV public-affairs program Mesa Redonda, or Round Table.
“What’s being spread is fear,” he added.
Jacques Chirac has a gift for the theatrical, and he displayed his talent to great effect on Thursday when he signalled that France was prepared to use nuclear weapons against any state that backed a terrorist attack against it. The president was speaking to a highly interested party — the crew of Le Vigilant, one of the submarines that carry most of France’s 350 or so nuclear warheads (De Gaulle’s “force de frappeâ€), and he was also trying to protect costly nuclear modernisation from possible budget cuts. But he clearly knew that his comments would create a global frisson…
France is one of the world’s five “officially†recognised nuclear powers and permanent members of the UN security council. As such, it is in the forefront of a potentially dangerous confrontation with Iran over its alleged ambitions to acquire atomic weapons. Tehran’s response is that it is entitled, under the non-proliferation treaty, to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, which it insists is all it seeks. France is obliged, under the same treaty, to make progress towards disarmament…
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But there is a simple point here: how can countries such as Iran and North Korea be persuaded not to seek the bomb if the “official†nuclear powers flaunt their double standards and issue threats? As President Chirac quipped memorably of someone else in a different context: he missed an excellent opportunity to shut up.