Emotions On “Obama Beach”

President Obama’s visit to France wasn’t enough to patch up the cracks in the bilateral relationship.

Omaha Beach, where the allies made their 1944 landing in Normandy, was re-christened “Obama Beach” by the French newspaper “Libération,” known for its love of wordplay. The 65th D-Day anniversary ceremony took place at the American military cemetery Colleville-sur-Mer, just above the most famous landing site of the European invasion. U.S. President Barack Obama hosted the event held on this tiny bit of America surrounded by Europe. His guests of honor included French President Sarkozy, the heir to the British crown Prince Charles as well as the heads of government from Canada and Great Britain, Stephen Harper and Gordon Brown. The participation of about 200 elderly American, British and Canadian troops who risked their lives on these beaches 65 years ago made the ceremony especially moving.

Sarkozy described the bloody battles of June 6th and reminded everyone that Polish, Czech and Slovakian immigrants, as well as soldiers from other occupied countries and Free French troops who fought alongside the allies. “We owe them our freedom,” Sarkozy said. He added that to honor the fallen of that day, it was necessary to have a united front against today’s threats and challenges such as terrorism, fanaticism, attacks on human rights and degradation of the environment. Obama praised the courage and heroic actions of the American, Canadian, British and Russian troops along with those resistance fighters who took up arms to fight the Nazi occupation.

Prior to the ceremonies, Obama and Sarkozy had a 30-minute conversation in the Caen prefecture and then held a brief press conference with several reporters, where both men reiterated the fact that they were in agreement on almost all issues. Obama affirmed his readiness to extend a hand to Iran provided the nation was prepared for peace and cooperation, but that it was not acceptable to have Iran involved in the spread of nuclear weapons in the Near East. Sarkozy emphasized that Iran had a right to nuclear energy for peaceful but not military purposes. In reference to the Near East conflict, Obama encouraged Israel and the Palestinians to engage in serious and constructive negotiations toward a two-state solution in order to escape the current dead end. He said that while a 60-year-old problem cannot be solved overnight, he expected both sides to recognize the fact that the fate of both nations depended on the outcome.

Obama sharply criticized North Korea’s recent nuclear test, calling it “highly provocative.” The United States, he said, would not accept further such destabilization in the region. The United States and France continue to disagree on the issue of Turkey’s admission into the European Union and the question of whether predominantly secular France should tolerate the wearing of the Islamic headscarf by female students and government employees.

American presidents traditionally attend at least one memorial service at Colleville-sur-Mer’s American cemetery. Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, attended two of them, the last being in 2004. At that time, the atmosphere between Bush and then-President Jacques Chirac was icy because of Chirac’s refusal to allow France to become ensnared in the Iraq military adventure.

Sarkozy’s efforts to use Obama’s visit for a new beginning in Franco-American relations was only partially successful. Above all, what was lacking was a personal relationship between the young, charismatic Obama and the ambitious, dynamic Sarkozy. “Sarkozy talks fast, so we can still do a lot of things,” Obama joked to journalists in Caen as Sarkozy smiled painfully. Immediately after his election, Sarkozy began working on improving relations with the U.S. Speaking to the U.S. Senate in December, 2007, he said “Every time I hear that an American soldier has fallen anywhere in the world, I remember what the American army did for France.” In spite of that, relations between both nations remain problematic, partly because Sarkozy isn’t willing to bow to America’s desire for world dominance. He takes every opportunity to emphasize France’s role in a “multipolar world.”

Sarkozy has demonstrated he is ready and willing to cooperate with the new American leadership by putting French troops again under the NATO command structure, increasing the number of French troops in Afghanistan, and in his willingness to accept Guantanamo inmates to help Obama attain his goal of closing the prison camp. He has also threatened Iran with stiffer sanctions over its nuclear program. But all this is apparently not enough to restore relations to what they were between Chirac and Bill Clinton. Obama’s “affinity” for Europe is limited as he concentrates on those areas of conflict in the world where he stresses American interests. This isn’t lost on America’s allies in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military often acts without consulting or even informing them.

There are even differences in their approaches to halting nuclear proliferation by Iran and North Korea. What the United States wants to accomplish mainly by applying pressure, France hopes to do with diplomacy and offers of economic assistance. There is disappointment in the halls of the French government that Obama seems uninterested in Sarkozy’s suggestion they hold a Near East peace conference in Paris. And America has begun giving France keen competition in the area of arms exports, particularly to the Gulf region. Sarkozy does not appear willing to take that lying down as he recently demonstrated by showing up as a sales rep in the United Arab Emirates for the Rafale jet fighter made by the private French corporation Dassault to counter Washington’s competition with the heavily U.S.-subsidized F-16 fighter.