France and Libya In the News

Two recent news stories have caught my attention. French President Jacques Chirac, who was regarded as a rhymes-with-glass-pole by his own people until he opposed the Iraq War, has reverted to his prewar self. Chirac recently decided that French schoolchildren should not be allowed to publicly display any religious symbols when school is in session. That means no crucifixes, no yarmulkes, and - this took nerve - no headscarves for Muslim schoolgirls.

This last rule is the most egregious. Interfering with the rights of a religious minority? Forcing Muslim girls to go against their faith? Who does Chirac think he is, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court? Seriously, if an American school superintendent tried something like this, the ACLU would sue him so fast, his head would spin. France is supposed to have a proud heritage of championing freedom, and now Chirac is trying to ban free religious expression? Maybe France's motto should be Liberte, Egalite, Stupidite.

Also, Libya has admitted to having weapons of mass destruction and is ready to get rid of them in accordance with international law. This stunning breakthrough came after months of negotiations involving the United States and the United Kingdom on one side and Moammar el-Qadaffi's government on the other. Some analysts have suggested that Qadaffi is trying to make amends over the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing and renounce support for international terrorism - and it could be, since Qaddafi was reportedly shocked by the September 11, 2001, attacks. Just as likely, however, is the possibility that after Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld would take out a map of Africa, point out Libya, and say, "Bomb that!" Either way, Qaddafi's compliance with the rest of the world is a good thing. And the fact that we worked with Britain to accomplish this shows how much value there is in multilateralism.