Boycotting France... again
Guests: Fox News contributor Ellis Henican & Jean-Jacques de Mesterton, former Chirac aide
"How many times does the French government led by Jacques Chirac have to put all of us in danger before we get the picture? France has said no to Secretary of State Rice, who asked the Chirac government to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group. If France would do that, Hezbollah could not raise money in Europe. Hezbollah has murdered thousands of civilians. Even the new Palestinian leadership wants them branded a terrorist group because they oppose any peaceful solution with Israel. But Jacques Chirac won't call Hezbollah terrorists. So I am again calling for all responsible people not to buy French products, not to travel to France, and to contact the French embassy and let them know Chirac's conduct is unacceptable. Until we see the French government do something to help in the war on terror, we should consider that country hostile to our safety. And so the boycott of France is on. Spread the word--France is helping Hezbollah and other terrorists, and until that stops we're not buying their stuff."
Transcript: FoxNews.com
Fox News analyst Ellis Henican joined The Factor and opposed the idea of a boycott. "Diplomacy is a business for grownups," Henican said, "and we're not going to solve the problems in the Middle East by pandering and calling people names. If you want to change somebody's behavior, the best way is to engage them." But Jean-Jacques de Mesterton, a former campaign aide to President Chirac, countered that engagement is not possible with terrorists. "The bottom line is that you designate people exactly what they are--Hezbollah is a terrorist group, and the United States should pressure the French to designate them as such. They are murderers, they are bad news, and call them what they are."