Sarkozy warns that Pakistan also at stake in Afghan campaign

THE STANS

Sarkozy warns Iran it risks 'catastrophe' of Israeli strike
French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Iran on Thursday that its determination to press on with its controversial nuclear drive risked an Israeli strike that would be a "catastrophe." "Iran is taking a major risk by continuing the process of seeking nuclear technology for military ends," Sarkozy said at a four-way summit in Damascus with the leaders of Syria, Qatar and Turkey. "Because one day, no matter which Israeli government is in power, one morning we will awake to find Israel has attacked," Sarkozy said on the second day of a landmark visit to Syria. "It's not a question of whether it is legitimate or intelligent or not... It would be a catastrophe, and we must avoid such a catastrophe." Iran has consistently denied that its nuclear programme is aimed at building an atomic bomb and says it wants only to generate energy for its growing population. But Tehran risks a fourth round of UN sanctions over its failure to abide by international calls to freeze uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but can also be used to build the core of a nuclear weapon.

by Staff Writers
Damascus (AFP) Sept 4, 2008
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that pulling out of Afghanistan, where 10 French troops were killed by the Taliban last month, would amount to abandoning nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"If we abandon Afghanistan we will be abandoning Pakistan, which doesn't need that. I want to remind you of one thing: that Pakistan has the nuclear bomb," he told reporters before winding up a visit to the Syrian capital.

"I want to say to the French that my conviction has not changed," he said.

A Taliban ambush followed by intense fighting in the Sarobi district near the Afghan capital Kabul on August 18 and 19 left 10 French soldiers dead and 21 wounded.

The attack prompted a public outcry in France, with some calling for the immediate withdrawal of the 3,000 French troops serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

"If almost all democracies are down there, if (US presidential candidate) Barack Obama has made the presence in Afghanistan the centrepiece of his election campaign... he must have a good reason," Sarkozy said.

"Our soldiers, by fighting terrorists down there, are protecting us here. We must understand that terrorism is a global movement."

Last month's attack near Kabul shocked France, with Sarkozy travelling to Afghanistan immediately afterwards. It prompted calls for more reconnaissance and intelligence gathering in operations.

About 70,000 international troops are fighting alongside Afghans against Taliban insurgents whose regime was ousted in a US-led invasion launched after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us Digg Reddit

YahooMyWeb Google Facebook

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

THE STANS

Pakistan officials say troops kill at least 15 in cross-border raid

Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 3, 2008
Pakistan said at least 15 people were killed in a cross-border raid by Afghan-based international forces on Wednesday, warning that the attack may "fuel the fire of hatred and violence."

SUPERPOWERS China suggests UN role in solving Georgia crisis Russia-NATO: Return Of The Great Game Medvedev Outlines Five Main Points Of Future Foreign Policy Analysis: Russia's second chance	NUKEWARS US inches towards India nuclear deal: diplomat US envoy leaves for North Korea nuclear talks in Beijing Russia to deploy weapons near Poland: lawmaker North Koreans don't seem to be restarting reactor: US
MISSILE NEWS Diehl Signs Contract With SENER For IRIS-T Surface-to-Air Missile Lockheed Martin Receives Contract For Guided MLRS Unitary Rockets Taiwan won't deploy longer-range missiles: report Taiwan to mass-produce anti-ship missiles: report	MISSILE DEFENSE Outside View: BMD blowback -- Part Two Outside View: BMD blowback -- Part One Outside View: BMD dilemmas -- Part Two Outside View: BMD dilemmas -- Part One
AEROSPACE Chinese airlines fly into headwinds in Olympic year The M2-F1 - An Aircraft Without Wings China's Tianjin building runway for Airbus test flights: report NASA evaluates new wing sensor	UAV NEWS Robotic helicopters teach themselves Industrial 6-Rotor Unmanned Helicopter Provides HighDef Video And Imaging LockMart Demos Airspace Deconfliction Of Multiple UAVs Reaper Drops Laser-Guided Bomb On Anti-Iraqi Forces
IRAQ WARS Bush mulling Iraq troop recommendations Immunity a sticking point in US-Iraq security pact: report Maliki reshuffles Iraqi negotiating team: report Dogs of War: Accountability gains ground	MILTECH ATK Awarded Comtract To Develop Multi-Stage Supersonic Target Spain's defence minister promises female friendly army uniform Defense Focus: Tanks still rock -- Part One MoD Computer Games Save Lives

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement