Over the past few years, France has won the reputation as being the leading anti-American voice of the Western world. Lately, news has been trickling out of France, suggesting that President Chirac has taken his opposition to America to a new level. One example includes allowing the pro-Baath pro-Saddam group “La Resistance” to operate out of Paris. The group’s main goal is to support killing American troops in Iraq.

Another example occurred less than two weeks ago when the French government hosted Lebanese parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt, Head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who enjoyed an unprecedented state visit to France. As Ahmad Al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah, reported on December 4, “Walid Jumblatt…[was] recently given a send-off befitting a state leader at the Elysee Palace by French President Jacques Chirac.” According to the Lebanese Daily Star, “Jumblatt’s visit to the French capital was considered by some political figures as historic, and as bringing him merit on the regional and international levels.”

This is significant because Mr. Jumblatt is known for his vehement anti-American statements and antagonistic attitude toward America. On November, 19, 2003, it was reported that the state department cancelled Mr. Jumblatt’s diplomatic visa following revelations that he expressed regret that the deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz, was not killed in a missile attack during a visit to Baghdad.

More recently, Mr. Jumblatt gave an interview to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat on February 12, 2004, in which he said: “We are all happy when U.S. soldiers are killed [in Iraq] week in and week out. The killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq is legitimate and obligatory.” The Progressive Socialist Party leader has also said he felt “great joy” at the 2002 destruction of the U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia, because it carried an Israeli astronaut.

The Lebanese MP is also known for espousing conspiracy theories against America. On April 28, 2004, he gave an interview to Al Arabiyya TV, in which he detailed how America was really behind September 11: “Who invented Osama bin Laden?! The Americans, the CIA invented him so they could fight the Soviets in Afghanistan together with some of the Arab regimes. Osama bin Laden is like a ghost, popping up when needed. This is my opinion.”

Mr. Jumblatt was asked “Even 9/11?” and answered: “Even 9/11…Why didn’t the sirens go off when the four hijacked planes took off?…The U.S. always needs an enemy…According to this plan or ideology of the born-again Christians who formed an alliance with Zionism – Islam is the monster, Islam is the target.”

In addition to hating America, Mr. Jumblatt has also spoke against the countries that support America. Lebanon’s Daily Star published a February 3, 2003, article quoting him as saying that the true axis of evil is one of “oil and Jews,” calling President Bush a “mad emperor,” and insulting Prime Minister Blair, Prime Minister Berlusconi, and Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish prime minister: “The oil axis is present in most of the U.S. administration, beginning with its president, vice-president, and top advisers, including [Condoleezza] Rice, who is oil-colored, while the axis of Jews is present with Paul Wolfowitz.”

In the interview, Mr. Jumblatt described President Bush as someone who “considers himself God’s deputy on Earth, threatening and classifying the world [into different camps], and relying on his imperial power…How dangerous emperors are when they go mad… In the same axis we have the trustworthy servant, the imperial servant…pleased with himself and his idiotic laugh, his peacock appearance, none other than Tony Blair…Also joining this axis is the comprador Mussolini of the 21st century, the prime minister of Italy today, Silvio Berlusconi, who seems to want to renew the empire of the Caesars…To complete the picture, we have Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, the Spanish neo-rightist…Aznar and Blair spend a lot of time in front of the mirror every morning, it seems, so that their hair is parted perfectly…People who pay that much attention to their appearance are fascists by nature. Or they have psychological or sexual complexes.”

The French government’s providing a hero’s welcome to Mr. Jumblatt, a self-proclaimed enemy of America, represents something far beyond a simple diplomatic disagreement.

Mr. Stalinsky is the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute.