"...the problem is to not play the game my people have been
playing in Damascus. The problem, he said, was 'Élysée' — the president’s
office... It’s always the same game with them. It’s a problem of experience.
Those who know, know..."
"...Il ne faut pas jouer le jeu que les miens ont joué en allant à
Damas. Le problème, dit-il, c'est 'l'Elysée - le bureau du Président... Avec
eux, c’est toujours pareil. C’est un problème d’expérience. Ceux qui sont au
courant le savent..."
A Statesman Without Borders
By JAMES TRAUB, New York Times February 3, 2008
"...in early November, Sarkozy sent Jean-David Levitte and his own chief
adviser, Claude Guéant, to Damascus to ask the Syrian president, Bashar Assad,
to use his considerable influence with the Lebanese opposition to break the
stalemate. Until that moment, the French had refused to deal with the Syrian
regime, which they blamed for the murder of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s former
prime minister, and other Lebanese leaders.
Kouchner, who viewed the Syrians as ruthless killers, was incensed and
humiliated. His Lebanese interlocutors felt betrayed. And the bid failed
utterly, just as Kouchner predicted. It was a fiasco for French diplomacy,
confirmed when Sarkozy announced in December that he was breaking off talks
with Damascus.
When I spoke to Kouchner later and asked if the failure in Lebanon showed
the limits of his brand of intimate diplomacy, he said, “Sorry, no, on the
contrary, the problem is to not play the game my people have been playing in
Damascus.” The problem, he said, was “Élysée” — the president’s office. Not
Levitte — “he was in agreement with me.” I told him that I had just had spoken
with Levitte, who said that Sarkozy authorized the trip only after Saad Hariri,
Rafik’s son and the leader of the so-called March 14 majority coalition, agreed
that he should do so.
“This is a loyal guy,” Kouchner shot back, referring to Levitte. “He knew
that I was right.” Kouchner was implying that the problem in fact lay with
Guéant, who was now emerging as an unexpected rival. “It’s always the same game
with them. It’s a problem of experience. Those who know, know.”..."
Lire également :
Sarkozy ou la forfanterie scélérate
Bechir Oubary, 31 décembre 2007
"Nicolas Sarkozy, qui ne conçoit la politique que comme une succession de
coups médiatiques, voulait absolument tenter le coup. À l’impossible, nul n’est
tenu, mais lui, il avait sa botte secrète pour ramener la Syrie sur le "droit
chemin". Pour séduire le jeune tyran et réussir là où d’autres ont échoué, il
était prêt à donner beaucoup plus que ce qu’aurait cédé un Chirac et davantage
que ce qu’aurait espéré, selon lui, une Syrie qui se morfondait depuis trois
ans dans son isolement..."
