The French Ambassador has responded:
To the Editor:
Re "Duelfer to France: J'accuse!" (column, Oct. 13): William Safire reports that I and my colleague, the French ambassador to the United Nations, have reacted strongly to allegations in the Duelfer report on relations between French companies or individuals and the former Iraqi regime. But Mr. Safire seems not to understand the reasons for our reactions and, to the contrary, appears to be taking for granted unverified accusations and preposterous conclusions.
The allegations in the report have not been verified, and individuals and companies that were named were not given a chance to have their denials mentioned in the report. Their rights were therefore not protected, contrary to those of American individuals and companies, whose names were not made public until they were later leaked to the press.
Furthermore, I cannot accept innuendo implying that France's vote in the Security Council was "bought off." The reasons for my country's opposition to the invasion of Iraq are well known: there was no evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11; and questions and doubts about Iraqi stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction could be clarified through United Nations inspections and didn't constitute an imminent threat to the security of the West.
To that extent, the other conclusions of Charles A. Duelfer's report support France's position. I wonder why Mr. Safire chose to remain silent on this part of the report.
Jean-David Levitte
Ambassador of France
Washington, Oct. 13, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/15/op...l15france.html