French ambassador to the United States His Excellency Jean-David Levitte spoke to a group of roughly 30 students as part of the Fletcher School's Charles Francis Adams Lecture series in ASEAN Auditorium yesterday afternoon.
Levitte, who was France's ambassador to the United Nations on Sept. 11, 2001 and during the buildup to the current Iraq war, addressed United States-France relations, the legacy of cooperation between the countries, and to today's "transformed world."
"In a way [France and the U.S.] invented together the ideas of freedom, modern democracy, and liberty," he said. "We have had, over the years, a fraternity of arms."
He began by illuminating the historical connections between the two nations, speaking about their cooperation during the 1781 siege of Yorktown and the D-Day invasion during WWII.
"From Yorktown to the beaches of Normandy, we have always defended our values together," he said.
Levitte proceeded to discuss his experience as France's ambassador to the U.N. on Sept. 11, 2001 and his role in drafting the resolution passed the next day that condemned the terrorist attacks and called for an international drive for justice. As President of the United Nations Security Council, he drafted the resolution without consulting Paris, he said.
"I couldn't reach France because the Verizon center was in the Twin Towers," he said. "But I knew I had to support the U.S.A."
"It was in my genes," he said, referring to his country's long tradition of cooperation with the United States.
Since these harmonious times, however, relations between the two nations have become increasingly tense, Levitte said.
He attributes the change in sentiment to the countries' differing stances toward war in Iraq.
"For us this war was not necessary at that time," he said. "The inspectors were doing just fine."
"The future of the Iraqi people is in their own hands now," he said.
In terms of rebuilding French-United States relations following the anti-French backlash in the Iraq War buildup, Levitte credits President Bush for extending a "hand of friendship to old Europe" by visiting and addressing the European Union in Brussels. The night after his speech in Belgium, the President convened with French President Jacques Chirac.
"Since that night Chirac and Bush decided not to talk any more about Iraq, but to instead let history judge," said Levitte. "But against terrorism we know we must be completely together [as nations] to win this fight."
The ambassador continued to address problems of diplomacy with Lebanon and Iran.
"For the first time since 1979, the U.S. was willing to sit at the same negotiating table with the Ayatollah," he said. That all changed with the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran in June 2005.
His government rejected the proposal of an economic package in return for the suspension of nuclear enrichment.
In the vein of nuclear proliferation, Levitte also addressed North Korea's recent test of nuclear weaponry.
The United Nations adopted Resolution 1718 this past weekend, sanctioning North Korea.
"It is the toughest [resolution] I have ever seen on this issue," he said. All fifteen members of the Security Council co-sponsored the resolution. "It sends a message to Pyongyang but it also sends a strong message to Tehran."
"We should not consider sanctions as powerless actions," Levitte told the Daily after his talk about the recent action toward North Korea.
He closed his speech by noting two lessons to be learned about United States-France relations.
The first was that the process of reconciling France and the United States following the Iraq War is similar to a "marriage in counseling...the marriage is strong."
The second lesson also addressed the American anti-French backlash. "Next time let's just agree to disagree without being so disagreeable," Levitte said.
Addressing a question about terrorism and terrorist-harboring states, Levitte said that "the 20th century was the most violent and bloody in history because of the clash of -isms [fascism, communism] with states."
"In the 21st century you have under-state organizations which can carry out blows against states," he said.
"Since we have built everything based on states, how can we have international laws adapt to this current system of below-state organizations acting like states?" he asked. "There is no obvious answer."
Associate Fletcher Professor Alan Henrikson said he hopes to have more influential speakers come to Fletcher as part of the school's Charles Francis Adams Lecture series.
Charles Francis Adams, relative of founding father John Adams, served as a board member for the Fletcher School.
