Chirac Blasts U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq

The Associated Press

PARIS -- President Jacques Chirac gave a tough critique Friday of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its fallout, saying the war destabilized the entire Middle East and allowed terrorism to spread.

In a speech to ambassadors, Chirac also renewed his call for an international conference on the Middle East, saying he was deeply concerned by the growing number of crises there.

"At Europe's gate, the Middle East has become an epicenter of international tensions," Chirac said. "Crises are building up and spreading."

On Iraq, Chirac suggested the problems there today justified France's strong opposition to the invasion in 2003.

"As France foresaw and feared, the war in Iraq caused upheavals whose effects have not yet finished unraveling," he said.

"The venture exacerbated the divisions between (Iraqi) communities and undermined the very integrity of Iraq," he said. "It weakened the stability of the region, where every country is now worried about its security and independence. It gave terrorism new terrain for expansion."

Now, "more than ever, the priority is to return sovereignty to the Iraqis," Chirac said.

(Continued, here.)