By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 11 --
While Francois
Hollande in
Washington
prepared to
dine with
President
Obama,
Victoria "F-
the EU"
Nuland, Al
Sharpton and
Samantha
Power, his
name was
invoked at the
UN in New York
by French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud,
vowing to "go
all the way"
on the Syria
humanitarian
draft
resolution.
Click here for
that and here for
Russia's
reaction.
Also in the
(White) House
for the State
Dinner were
Chuck Schumer,
Eric Cantor,
Paul Ryan and
Bronxite Mary
J. Blige.
Earlier on
February 11,
Hollande and
Obama had
discussed the
Central
African
Republic, with
nary a mention
that the UN's
Navi Pillay
said on
January 20
that France
put Muslim
communities
there at risk
of attack by
first disarming
the ex Seleka.
Back on
February 10 a
correspondent
from Le Figaro
asked, Why
isn't Hollande
being allowed
to speak to a
joint session
of Congress,
as on visits
by previous
French
presidents?
A
self-described
Senior
Administration
Official cited
Hollande's
scheduling,
that he's
traveling to
"California to
visit some of
our most
innovative
business." And
it's true, on
February 12
Hollande is
slated to be
in San
Francisco,
where France
has a
consulate
which Inner
City Press has previously
covered.
Voice
of
America, which
is in essence
US state media,
asked a
questions
about the
"counter-terrorism"
operation in
Central
African
Republic. It
seemed a
strange
formulation;
to some it
cast in a
different
light what UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay says
was France
putting Muslim
communities at
risk by first
disarming the
ex Seleka.
Al
Hayat asked
what President
Obama can
"offer"
Hollande on
Syria, and if
the US will be
attending a
Friends of
Lebanon Group
meeting in
Paris. The
Senior
Administration
Official
responded that
Obama and
Hollande will
discuss
efforts on
humanitarian
aid in Syria:
seemingly, the
draft UN
Security
Council
resolution
that Russia
has already
said is a
non-starter.
While the
Senior
Administration
Official said
Obama and
Hollande will
talk about
Syria's
"moderate
opposition,"
there was no
mention, or
question,
about the UN's
finding that
the Free
Syrian Army
recruits and
uses child
soldiers,
supposedly a
big issue for
France (and
subject of the
US 2008 Child
Soldiers
Prevention
Act). We'll
have more on
this.
In
other
diplomatic
news, in UN
Federal court
in New York a
UN Office of
Legal Affairs
letter has
been filed
stating that
Indian
diplomat Khobragade,
who was
arrested and
strip searched
and who the US
says it will
still go after
if she returns
to the US,
had or
obtained full
diplomatic
immunity.
Watch this
site.
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