THE FRENCH President, Mr Jacques Chirac, has opened a second front in his war on US policy in the Middle East.
His demand for European cosponsorship of the peace process was his first front. Then yesterday, Mr Chirac called for immediate implementation of UN Security Council resolution 986, which would allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medicine. The US, which has blocked attempts to carry out the deal, is sure to be furious.
The French leader made his appeal in a speech to the Jordanian parliament in which he called for a new Middle East, a reconciled Middle East . . in which Iraq would once again take its place".
Many Arabs believe the US is determined to break Iraq as punishment for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. In the Arab world sympathy for the Iraqi people runs high and Mr Chirac's call for Iraq's rehabilitation will further raise his popularity.
Already, after his speeches calling for justice for the Palestinians and his Tuesday stand off with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem, Arab radio and television announcers refer to him as "the hero".
King Hussein himself called Mr Chirac "a man of wisdom, a man of vision, a dear friend for many years". But those who watched the Jordanian monarch at the parliament in Amman yesterday wondered how long he had to live.
At a press conference later, he appeared g aunt and pale, his voice scarcely more than a whisper. He has gone almost completely bald, perhaps as a result of medical treatment. Four years ago the king had a cancerous kidney removed at the Mayo clinic in the US.
Mr Chirac's remarks about Iraq struck a sombre note. "The Iraqi people cannot be held responsible for decisions to which they were not a party," he said, adding that all UN Security Council resolutions must be implemented "but only those resolutions".
The US and Britain have several times added new conditions for an easing of sanctions to those laid down by the Security Council. For example, Iraq most prove it has ended human rights abuses. The US recently extended the "no fly zone" in which Iraq is not allowed to fly its helicopters; France opposed that decision as having no basis in law and refused to send its patrols beyond the earlier UN established zone.
At the press conference with King Hussein, Mr Chirac said: "Iraq is going through a shameful situation. The population is suffering. Everything must be done to prevent this from continuing, to stop the growing poverty of men, women and children. It is unacceptable on a human level and very dangerous for the stability of the region." A UN report published last year said more than half a million Iraqi children had already died from malnutrition caused by the sanctions.
Although lie has supported the exiled Iraqi opposition, King Hussein shares his subjects' concern for the plight of the Iraqi people. "I support everything the president said," King Hussein declared. "These are my words and feelings as well. The tragedy that has affected the people of Iraq must end. We need Iraq. A healthy Iraq is a necessity in this region.
Mr Chirac's initiative may be humanitarian but it is also economically expedient. Iraq owes France £3.125 billion for arms purchased in the 1980s, and France has no hope of receiving any repayment until Iraq is allowed to sell oil. On October 1st, France became the first European country to have a commercial attache in Baghdad.
