French Defense Minister Drian to EuroFora on ISIS Terrorism: Large Debate on Alliance for Values ?!

 

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- A "General Debate" about possibly Strengthening Alliances to Protect both Neighbouring Allied Countries and all Europe against the horrible Beheaders/Throat-Cutters Terrorists of ISIS' armed Islamic Extremists, was prognosticated by experienced French Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in reply to an "EuroFora"s Question, just after he linked the Historic 1944 Fight to Liberate Strasbourg from NAZI Occupation, and Today's, 2014 struggle versus ISIS, always in the name of the same Values, as he stressed at the conclusion of a landmark Speech to a Popular Ceremony for the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of that Historic Event, which practically announced the imminent Liberation of all France and the rest of Europe from such Threats and Dangers.

-------------------------------------
  - "For (Fighting against) ISIS  (beheaders/throat cutter Terrorists), .. do you think that Alliances should be Strengthened further ? How do you see things ?", "EuroFora" asked the French Minister of Defense, just a few Days after the horrible spectacle of more BeHeadings of innocent People taken Hostages, in addition to cowardly Cutting the Throat of 11 disarmed and detained Syrian Soldiers POWS, in an atrocious exhibition of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.  

 - "I don't know" yet, he initially reacted Carefuly, (considering also the fact that, at least part of "EuroFora"s Question is related rather to the Foreign Ministry and/or to the Presidential Palace "Elysée" decision making, together with the Defense Ministry.  

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          >>> - But "I think that there will be a General Debate" about this, French Minister Drian positively prognosticated briefly,  apparently Open to eventually important perspectives in the foreseable Future.

 - "Because you spoke (earlier Today : See Infra) about Values which must be Defended everywhere", "EuroFora" observed, in this regard.  - "Yes !", nodded afirmatively Drian, who had just explained that his venue for the 70th Anniversary of Strasbourg's Liberation was due to the fact that - "It's a Great Moment for (Collective) Memory, and, moreover, there is the Strong Symbol of Strasbourg.  So, the Memory of this Event, offers an occasion for the Nation to Unite itself around its Values, in a World which remains quite Unstable, with Threats and Risks against which we must be Protected" even Today.

The move came shortly after reiterated calls from Russia's leadership and others (even some US circles) to Unite closer against common Threats and Dangers provoked by the Horrible Beheaders/Throat-Cutters of ISIS' Islamic Extremist Terrorists, which found an echo even inside France's mainstream GeoPolitics by this week's criticism by main Opposition leader, experienced former President, Nicolas Sarkozy, against "provoking a Cold War against Russia, while ISIS is around us", as he denounced, earlier this week at nearby Mulhouse, (See "EuroFora"s NewsReprt from Mulhouse : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/sarkozynocolodwarinfrontofisis.html ). Many spoke also about China, also threatened by other Deadly, Extreme Islamist Terrorist Groups in a Central Asian region, (while some added, conditionaly, even Iran), etc.

 

+ Drian has announced, earlier this week, that 6 Fighter Airplanes "Mirage" will be soon placed in Jordany, in addition to another 9 "Rafale" Planes already based in the United Arab Emirates, in order to fight against ISIL at Iraq, and this was reportedly confirmed, later Today, also by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, during a visit in Africa, at Nigeria, to an Air-Base from where are launched UAVs to monitor the Sahel area.

=> -  Now, on 2014, naturally, "the Situation is Different"  from what it was back on 1944, "but the Threats against our Liberties, our Values, still remain the Same. So, we must Keep the same Determination, the same Vigilence, and the same Precautions, while, at the same moment, have Soldiers who are Proud of what they are doing, as I witnessed, both Yesterday, when I was travelling elsewhere, (in Africa), and (Today) here", in Strasbourg "by Respecting the Memory of those who Liberated this City, and the entire France", ultimately participating in the liberation of all Europe from NAZIsm, the French Minister added, speaking to Journalists, including "EuroFora".

+ Citting another Concrete Example in this direction, Drian pointed also to "EUROCORPS"', (a 6 EU Nations' Army HeadQuarters' body, able to combine Land- Air - Sea operations in a joint move, in the service of the EU, (or, eventually, in agreement with NATO), which has repeatedly got EU Parliament's strong Backing as a key element of an emerging EU Foreign and Security policy :  - "It's a Symbol of a Europe which able to protect itself..  In fact, "the European Defense is being built Day after Day : F.ex.  Today, Europe is Present in Mali, (SubSaharian African Country which had been recently threatened by similar Violenty Extremist Islamic Terrorist Groups : See, f.ex. : ...), where 22 out of 28 EU Member Countries are actively participating there, in order to ensure the ReCostruction of Mali's Army", as he observed. So that, "European Defense" policy "goes forward", while "EUROCORPS remains its Symbol", Drian concluded.

---------------------------------

Meanwhile, (as "EuroFora" had previously guessed, speaking 40 minutes earlier with an experienced collegue of the Alsacian main Media), Drian had made a Timely link between the Historic Fight to Liberate Strasbourg from NAZIsm, and Today's fight to Defend Neighbouring Allied Countries and Europe itself from ISIS, through the Vital Need to Saveguard elementary Human Values, brutaly trumpled underfeet both by the former Totalitarian Dictature and from today's Deadly Extreme Islamic Terrorists of ISIS' atrocious BeHeaders and/or Throat-Cutters : The same Values which stimulated the Fight and Victory against NAZIsm, request now to protect Neighbouring  Allied Counties and even France and all the EU etc. against the atrocious ISIS' BeHeaders, he said in substance, as a matter of Principle, while avoiding to expose in Public concrete details :
 
- "We shall Never Forget the Sacrifices made by all those French Soldiers", (many of African origin, as f.ex. 2 old now men who travelled from Algeria to Strasbourg to be with us Today, as noted earlier Strasbourg's Mayor Roland Ries), "for Peace to win, and for our Nation to find anew its Freedom". "Those men contributed to Liberate Strasbourg on 1944, and continue, still Today, to Fight in the name of France and our Values. 70 Years ago, the Liberation of France reminded us that there is No Freedom without Struggle. Today, by paying hommages to those Heroes, .. as well as to Strasbourg's Population, a Victim of War, we also remind that there is No Freedom without a Memory in order to Defend it", Drian said earliier in his Speech.

- "During these Dark Years, it's thanks to the outstanding Courage of our Fighters, but also to the extraordinary Solidarity of our Allies, that France rose anew from the abyss, and renewed with its Destiny of a great Nation which takes its Responsibilities in front of the Dangers which may Threaten it. It's thanks to them, Yesterday's Fighters and Allies, that we owe to Live now in  a Pacified area. Honour their struggle is also Open the Eyes, as they did, to the Reality of the World which surrounds us" Today.

>>>  - "In 70 Years, the World has considerably Changed. But our common Enemy has remained the Same, even Under Different Faces : Intolerance, Racism, Fanatism, Barbary. Yesterday, this Enemy (NAZIsm) Terrorized our Families and subordinated entire Countries accross Europe. Now, it spreads a Same Terror accross Friendly Populations, at the Doors of Europe", he timely denounced.

 - "How could we stay Idle, while the Freedom of those who had contributed to Free us Yesterday, (as he said mainly for several African Nations, from which had been recruited many among the Soldiers who fought, together with Europeans, against the NAZI Military Invasion and Occupation, back on the 1940ies), "may be Threatened Today ?", he wondered. -  "But, this Fight for the Liberty of our Allies, in a World which was never before so InterDependent as now, it's also, more than ever, a Fight for Our own Security", Drian noted realistically.

 - Indeed, nowadays, "Armed Terrorist Groups, such as "AQMI" or "ISIS" ("Daesh" in the French version), don't limit themselves into Looting, Raping, Destroying entire Populations, here in the Sahel, there in Iraq and Syria. They also spread around, exploiting the Weakness of those States, in order to seek to reach France and all Europe", Drian warned.

 - "That's why France undertakes all its Responsibilities. It does so in Mali, since the 11th of January 2013, with the Operation "Serval", and, from now on, throughout all Sahel, with the Operation "Barkhane", in order to Struggle against Terrorist Groups. It does so in Central Africa, in order to Stop Abuses and Prevent the Implosion of a Country which would DeStabilize African Continent's Core. It certainly does so also in Iraq, in the context of the Operation "Chammal", which allows to make Decisive Strikes against that New Fortress of Barbary, which is "ISIL" ("Daesh").  As it, evenmore, does at the Indian Ocean, when it Defends Maritime Liberty against Piracy", (as he added about earlier violent attacks against Peaceful Merchant Ships, particularly heading towards the Suez Channel, which has, notoriously, led also to the creation of another European collective Mission).

 - "Tomorrow, as well as 70 Years ago, France acts in the Name of its Values", and "will Continue to Act, in the name of Ideals which Inspired it already Yesterday, and of the Duty which is imposed to it, Today", the French Minister of Defense firmly announced in conclusion.

- "Inside a Dangerous World, it's a Difficult Task", which "requires an Important Effort by the whole Nation", he observed. But, "it's at this price that we shall have a 1st class Army in Europe on 2020, and that France will remain a great country able to face Today's Urgencies and meet the Security Challenges", so that,  the "Defense of our Liverty, yesterday", joins "the Defense of our Security, Today", serving "a Duty of Vigilence, that the Heroes .. of the Liberation (from NAZIsm, back on 1944), left us to share. It's up to us to prove to be at the level of the Fight that they led, and which remains, 70 Years later, Topicaly "Hot"", Drian urged in fine of a Popular gathering at Strasbourg's central Square "Kleber".

He was symbolicaly speaking in front of the Statue of Historic General Kleber, a German-culture Officer faithful to France's Napoleon, who notoriously fought brillantly, together with him, mainly in Egypt, against the Ottoman-Turc Occupation which had notoriously Destroyed the, once brillant, Arab Civilisation and erased most traces of the Historic Ancien Egyptian Civilisation, until Napoleon's Archeologist Champolion, succeeded to find a way (thanks also to the Discovery of a Stone with one and same Text written successively in Ancient Greek and Egyptian, etc),  to Start Translating, for the 1st time, the Ancient Egyptian Language of the Pharaons, later-on...

By another interesting coincidence, even more symbolically, it's an authentic, Old, Artisticaly Sculptured Glass for Beer, which reportedly used to belong to Kleber himself, that German Chancelor Angie Merkel, had chosen to give as a Gift to out-going then French long-time President Jacques Chirac, back on March 2007 in Berlin, during an exceptional EU Summit which included main references to EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, (Comp. "EuroFora" Co-Founder's NewsReports from Berlin, then). The German-origin Young Officer Kleber, had been attracted by France's Napoleon plans, and had joined him, then, in Egypt, to fight against the Othéoman-Turk Military Occupation, Destruction of Civilisation and asservissment of Arab People.