In a recent issue of the Phnom Penh Post, Norbert Klein stated that "the French

position had been to take the government of Iraq to account". The apparent point

of Mr Klein's letter was to show that American political and military leaders, in

contrast with those of 'Old Europe', fail to take seriously the consequences of their

decisions.

We are now discovering, based upon documents found by British journalists in the

Iraqi foreign ministry, that France aided the Iraqi secret police in their efforts

to stifle criticism of Iraq at a human rights meeting in Paris.

These journalists also found a thank-you letter from Saddam Hussein to French President

Jacques Chirac, wherein the bloody dictator expressed his gratitude for French efforts

to dismantle United Nations sanctions against Iraq. Americans are fond of noting

that 'talk is cheap'. Enough said?

- Raymund Johansen - San Francisco, USA