I try to get my news from several sources, and that can lead to some interesting discoveries. It seems that in the early days of Israel's attack on Lebanon, Jacques Chirac wanted Israel to go into Syria as well. This is from Guysen Israel News:
Jacques Chirac had urged Israel to attack Syria in the first few days of the war in Lebanon. According to the army radio Galei Tsahal, the French president sent a message to Jerusalem, via a secret channel. He proposed that Israel launch an offensive against Damas and bring down the regime of Bashar al-Assad in exchange for total French support in the war. According to the message from Paris, Syria was held responsible for sparking the war on the northern border and encouraged Hizbollah to act. (Guysen.Isra×›l.News)
I have found no confirmation of this. Most of the coverage of Chirac's view of Israel's attack on Lebanaon is of his condemnation of Israel's "disproportionate actions," as in here [1]:
President Jacques Chirac said Friday that Israel's military offensive against Lebanon is "totally disproportionate" and asked whether destroying Lebanon was not the ultimate goal.
However, he also said that rockets fired on Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas are "inadmissible, unacceptable and irresponsible."
Chirac implicitly suggested that Syria and Iran might be playing a role in the expanding crisis in the Middle East which, along with the Iranian nuclear issue, creates "a truly dangerous situation in which we must be very, very careful."
I think many around the world understood the frustration Israel feels enduring daily attacks on its citizens but felt that the carnage in Lebanon was something that would accomplish nothing constructive and would ultimately hurt Israel. Some in the Israeli military have come to the same conclusion. But did Chirac urge a wider war? And if so, what would have been the result?
It is clear that Bush wants a war against Islam on a broad front, from Syria to Afghanistan. But it is highly doubtful that anyone with any sense wants this, particularly Israel. Israel wants security, but they became uncomfortable with the Iraq invasion pretty early. Israel initially believed the Bush line that Iraq was developing WMD, but, unlike America, realized that the reports were false and even Arial Sharon felt that the Iraq war would destabilize the area and make Israel less safe, hence his support for Kerry over Bush in 2004. Israel wants security, but I suspect Bush's vision of a Crusade against Islam scares Israel no end, particularly considering the history of Crusades. France very solidly opposes Bush's Crusade, including the Iraq invasion, though they were one of our best allies in the war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
So to hear that Chirac urged an attack on Syria by Israel is surprising, though I am not surprised that Israel declined to expand their war. If true it is quite newsworthy!
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