FRENCH-U.S. COOPERATION MAY BRING PEACE

By ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 4, 10:05 PM ET

PARIS - Different approaches, same goal — that's how both American and French diplomats are describing their joint efforts to end the fighting in Lebanon.

Despite occasional bursts of French anger reminiscent of the rancor between Paris and Washington before the Iraq war, U.S.-French cooperation is fueling optimism that they have turned the page on that painful period — and that together, they may even find a solution to the latest Middle East quagmire.

"We're certainly getting close" to a U.N. resolution, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this week. "We're working with the French very closely."

Her French counterpart, Philippe Douste-Blazy, echoed: "We are working well with the Americans, working night and day."

The round-the-clock diplomatic activity — at the United Nations, in trans-Atlantic phone calls, closed-door embassy meetings and talks on the sidelines of international events — hasn't been trouble-free.

In a phone call, French President Jacques Chirac told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan: "We are looking for solutions acceptable to everyone, and we are trying to narrow the gap between the different positions."

When fighting broke out July 12, France quickly and firmly condemned Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon — a former French protectorate — while the U.S. government stood firmly by Israel.

Some feared Washington and Paris were headed for a repeat of 2003, when France rallied opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, prompting the deepest rift in relations in decades.

But this time, the two nations say they have the same ultimate goal: disarming Hezbollah guerrillas and establishing a sturdy, violence-free Lebanon. They just differ on how to get there.

The U.S. wants any cease-fire to be part of a package of simultaneous steps, including the deployment of a robust international peacekeeping force and steps to tackle Hezbollah's disarmament. France has insisted that fighting be halted first to pave the way for a wider peace, a stand with wide international support.

Tensions at the United Nations over the past week centered on the cease-fire question. France scuttled a meeting of possible contributors to a force, saying it wasn't worth discussing a force without a cease-fire. By Thursday, Rice signaled that the United States might be willing to compromise, and her spokesman said Friday the U.S. hopes to have a resolution early next week.

"We're not in an Iraq configuration," said a French diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. "Our point of view is understood, and is progressing because events are proving us right."

One key reason for the U.S.-French cooperation, observers say, is that France is expected to contribute to, and possibly lead, a multinational force for Lebanon. And no force will work unless it has full U.S. support.

"It has been absolutely clear from the beginning, to all sides, that France can play an important role in the current crisis" because of its ties to Lebanon and relatively good standing in the Arab world, said Francois Gere, director of the French Institute of Strategic Analysis.

Despite the rancor over the Iraq war, the French and the Americans have been working together on Lebanon for several years. They are the co-sponsors of U.N. Resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004, which led to Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon and calls for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon and the extension of Lebanese government authority throughout the country, including the Hezbollah-controlled south.

In the current crisis, some French politicians have lashed out at the United States for not calling for an immediate cease-fire. Presidential hopeful and former culture minister Jack Lang called Bush a "fanatic" whose policies in the Middle East have encouraged terrorism.

Even the foreign minister didn't rule out a heightening of U.S.-French tensions last weekend and stressed, sounding frustrated, how "completely different" the U.S. and French approaches were.

But Gere said the remarks were aimed at domestic and Arab world audiences.

"France is not looking to oppose the American position," Gere said, but is "showing our interest in Lebanon and our very strong concern for the population."

Meanwhile, average Americans appear to be warming to their former French foes.

A Pew Global Attitude poll in June showed 52 percent of Americans surveyed now have a favorable impression of the French, nearly double the 29 percent in 2003.

The biggest sign of conciliation came last week at the U.S. congressional cafeteria: French fries and french toast are back. So long, "freedom fries," renamed by Republicans in the House of Representatives ahead of the Iraq war.