Bush, Chirac vow to cooperate — but remain at odds

PARIS -- President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac Saturday pledged to work together to help rebuild Iraq, but they continued to remain at odds, as Chirac called the situation "extremely precarious" while Bush claimed major progress toward a free and democratic country.

The leaders sought to emphasize their common ground as they prepared to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, one of the moments when the United States and France were closest. But their ongoing differences over Iraq were clearly evident.

During a joint news conference, Chirac said he was pleased that the "tyrannical regime" of Saddam Hussein was over, but added: "What's less positive is that there is a degree of chaos prevailing."

The French president again took issue with Bush's justification for the invasion of Iraq, which Bush often compares to the liberation of Europe 60 years ago. "History does not repeat itself, and it is very difficult to compare historical situations that differ," Chirac said.

Bush said he appreciated the discussions with Chirac and took a conciliatory tone.

"The Iraqi people want and deserve freedom, peace and prosperity, and the nations of the world have a responsibility to help them achieve that," Bush said. "Members of the U.N. Security Council are working with Iraq's new leaders toward a new resolution that will express international support for Iraq's interim government, that will reaffirm the world's security commitment to the Iraqi nation, and encourage other U.N. members to help in joining the Iraqi people as they establish a representative government."

As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, France could veto any resolution on Iraq. Chirac pointedly withheld his endorsement of an emerging draft resolution to be presented to the U.N. Security Council that formalizes international recognition of the new interim Iraqi government. But at their private dinner, Chirac told Bush that he believed the Security Council eventually would adopt the final language of the resolution unanimously, according to a senior Bush administration official.

Iraq has been a key issue during Bush's European tour. The administration had hoped to smooth relations with long-standing allies who opposed last year's invasion and the current bloody occupation.

Yet, within hours in two major European capitals, Paris and Rome, Bush's presence highlighted less a sense of common purpose than a lingering trans-Atlantic discord that threatens to undermine international efforts to rebuild Iraq.

Until now, much of that friction had been cloaked in diplomatic niceties. At a minimum, the leaders have insisted that past disagreements were history.

But the festering tensions surfaced during a news conference by Bush and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, effectively pitting the two men against Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Chirac openly had worked with Schroeder to block Bush's intentions to wage war against Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

More recently, Chirac further antagonized Bush by inviting Schroeder, but pointedly snubbed Berlusconi, when asking leaders to attend Sunday's ceremonies. Schroeder promptly accepted, arguing the invasion helped free Germany from its Nazi regime.

Thus, in a show of solidarity with Berlusconi, who also has a history of rocky relations with Chirac, Bush scrubbed a planned stop in England and instead went to Rome.

When asked at their joint news conference about the French snub, Berlusconi said that he was pleased to have the company of Bush to himself, in Rome, rather than in the company of world leaders in France.

"It was much more valuable to have just for Italy, only for Rome and for us, a representative of the American people--rather than being part of one celebration where there are going to be 17 prime ministers," Berlusconi said. "So I'd rather have him here, alone, than going there, one of 17."

The lingering bad feelings is not surprising, said Charles A. Kupchan, director of European studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. and French leaders lack the deep, personal ties that their predecessors enjoyed, and they bring a different set of attitudes--driven in part by a maturation of the European Union, he said. In addition, Kupchan said, Bush's policies and tones have "set Europe on edge."

Chirac at the news conference took issue with reports about a deterioration of the U.S.-French alliance, saying that "some comments don't reflect reality." But such reassurance did little to mask the underlying tensions that have exacerbated the trans-Atlantic estrangement between the United States and many Europeans, who increasingly see the United States as militaristic and bullying overseas and puritanical and materialistic at home.

In a survey published in the Le Figaro newspaper, 88 percent named Germany as France's best ally--remarkable considering their history of warfare. The poll also found that Britain was designated France's most reliable ally by 63 percent of those polled. The United States, which 10 years ago ranked first in a similar survey, came in third with 55 percent.

French officials had predicted that the war would worsen, not reduce, Islamic terrorism and instability in the Middle East. They now say the aftermath has proved them right. In contrast to the United States, French intelligence officials insist that the al- Qaida-related networks now involved in car-bomb attacks and other violence in Iraq were not there before the war and did not have an alliance with Saddam.

French intelligence officials worry that Iraq has become a "land of jihad" like Afghanistan and Chechnya before it, and that the turmoil is drawing Islamists to Iraq from Europe and especially North Africa. The violence, they said, is worsening hatred of the West in the Muslim world and making recruitment by extremist networks easier.

In both Italy and France, Bush found himself on the defensive over the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. In Paris, Bush said he was "humiliated, as was most of my country" by the accounts and photographs of U.S. troops abusing Iraqi prisoners.

The leaders also said they would cooperate on trying to find a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Middle East will be discussed at this week's summit by the seven industrialized countries and Russia at Sea Island, Ga.

Despite the rejection of Bush and his foreign policy by France, the number of demonstrators who turned out Saturday to chant slogans against Bush and the war in Iraq was a relatively modest 10,000 to 25,000 according to police. The turnout appeared to confirm the predictions that many would avoid anti-American rallies out of respect for the D-Day anniversary.

Moreover, nationwide marches earlier in the day against proposed changes in the French health care system appeared to dilute the strength of the anti-war activists, as protests on pocketbook issues tend to draw bigger crowds in France.

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