M. CHIRAC MAKES MISCHIEF
Sam White weighs the French
Prime Minister's chances after his indiscretions about Syria
Paris THOSE who have been clamouring for the French Prime Minister to give a lucid outline of French policy in the Middle East now have their answer, though in a curiously roundabout fashion, and one calculated to cause the maximum amount of mischief for M. Chirac himself. It has come in an interview that M. Chirac gave to the editor of the ultra-reactionary Washington Times, following which, in the face of his charges of misrepresentation, that journal has now published the full taped text. In the light of this M. Chirac can be accused of gross diplomatic tactless- ness which may damage him at home and abroad, but certainly not of a lack of lucidity on a singularly tangled and com- plex problem.
As for the charges of hypocrisy and opportunism levelled at the French for their dealings with Damascus, they have now been greatly overshadowed by what has been revealed of Washington's secret dealings with Teheran.
Rid of a few of its more unlikely suspicions, such as that the El Al bomb plot at Heathrow might have been the result of a conspiracy between the Israeli secret service, Mossad, and some dissident Syrian elements — a view which he tactful- ly attributes to Chancellor Kohl — the document reads as soberly as the kind of brief the British Foreign Office might have presented to Mrs Thatcher to try and dissuade her from breaking off diplomatic relations with Syra. If it had been given in the National Assembly instead of to an American journalist under the cloak of non-direct attribution, it is difficult to see how it would have aroused effective opposition either from the Socialists or from sections of his own supporters.
It sums up the national view that the French presence in the Middle East must be maintained, especially so in relation to its historic ties with the Lebanon. To break off ties with Syria at this moment would at one and the same time slam a gateway towards a Middle East settlement and hand the Maronite Christians over to a grisly fate. It would also encourage the rise of Muslim fundamentalism, of. which Iran is the standard-bearer, and to which Syria, though Iran's present ally, is destined to be the ultimate obstacle.
There seems to be some contradiction here, for the French at the moment appear to be courting the Iranians almost as assiduously as the Syrians. This, however, is probably due to the most immediate objective — that of freeing the French hostages in Lebanon, most if not all of whom are being held by terrorist groups under Iranian control.
It is worth quoting M. Chirac on Iran: An extraordinary danger for all of us comes from Iran. Our principal objective should be to stem the tide of Islam fun- damentalism in that region. France is doing its part by helping Iraq to contain it. Britain and the United States are both doing the opposite by supplying arms to Iran. So much for Western solidarity. So too are the Israelis. The question of containing anti-Western religious fanatic- ism is much more important than any isolated act of terrorism.'
M. Chirac does not deny Syrian involve- ment in terrorism. All he says is that it is better to combat it in secret and devious ways rather than feed the flames of anti- Western feeling in the Middle East by largely empty gestures. Such an empty gesture was the bombing of Libya, which he claims was totally counter-productive. If the Gaddafi regime is being destabilised it is not because of the bombs.
On the question of Syrian involvement in the El Al bombing attempt, one has the impression that M. Chirac never seriously studied the British evidence in the case or even felt inclined to do so. Here he risks serious embarrassment in the forthcoming trial in West Berlin of Hindawi's brother, accused of placing a bomb in the Western part of the city which he obtained from the Syrian embassy in East Berlin.
Domestically M. Chirac will probably get away with his indiscretions to the Washington Times provided all the French hostages in Lebanon are freed and freed speedily. Then, as Le Monde puts it, 'It will be seen that he acts to some effect while others bark.' The two hostages who arrived in Paris on Tuesday helped him greatly. However, because of his insinua- tions concerning possible Israeli involve- ment in the Heathrow plot he can wave goodbye to the Jewish vote in the presiden- tial elections in 18 months' time.
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