Jacques Chirac (pictured) recently condemned Israeli military activity in Lebanon as “disproportionate.” But Stephen Pollard points out that this position is inconsistent with a cowboy statement the French president made earlier this year, which we have duly dubbed the Chirac Doctrine.
Cleveland Plain-Dealer columnist Elizabeth Sullivan notes French hypocrisy too. Although she doesn’t completely agree with the IDF response either, Sullivan writes:
In 1999, dozens of NATO bombs and missiles hit Yugoslav bridges, communications grids, power plants and a television station, killing at least 498 civilians.
French fighter pilots flew more than 1,100 of the war’s air strikes, or about 11 percent of the alliance’s missions, according to Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine.
Yet last week, France was among 10 U.N. Security Council members voting “yea” on a resolution condemning Israel for “disproportionate use of force” in the Gaza Strip.