September 18th, 2007
Bellicose Bernard Kouchner

The appointment of Bernard Kouchner as French foreign minister was both brilliant and bizarre. It was brilliant because in bringing Kouchner on board, President Sarkozy managed to co-opt one of the stars of the Socialist Party and one of the most popular men in France. Kouchner is revered because he founded Medecins Sans Frontieres. And also – perhaps – because he is articulate, good-looking and married to a TV star.
But choosing Kouchner was also a bit bizarre because he was one of the few high-profile French public figures to have supported the invasion of Iraq - albeit slightly equivocally and on humanitarian grounds. Given that France led the opposition to the Iraq war and - as Sarkozy himself has pointed out - was vindicated by subsequent events, appointing somebody who made the wrong call seemed odd.
But the experience of Iraq does not seem to have chastened Kouchner. This week he has made the headlines, by saying of Iran - "We have to prepare for the worst and the worst is war." This goes beyond even what George W. Bush has said. His preferred formula is that – “All options are on the table”.










