From Iraq to Ukraine to Gaza: French leader questions US foreign policy
Shafaq News/ The last time the United States dismissed former French minister Dominique Du Filipan coincided with the Iraq War—a conflict that drained $1.8 trillion, claimed 4,500 American lives, and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis over nearly nine years, ultimately weakening US prestige and plunging the Middle East into chaos, the Washington Post reported.
Now, Du Filipan—a conservative French statesman who served as foreign minister in 2003—insisted, “It may be time for Washington to listen.”
In a prescient United Nations address, he decried the Iraq War, citing intelligence that offered no justification for the conflict, and he urged vigorous UN inspections to dismantle Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.
He warned that the invasion unleashed countless unforeseen consequences, including the daunting challenge of rebuilding a shattered Iraq.
Although his early warnings once drew ridicule in a post-9/11 US Congress, Du Filipan’s admiration for American ideals endures. He spent his youth in the United States, graduated high school in New York, and once remarked in 2012, “For every lover of freedom and democracy, the United States remains a constant source of inspiration.”
Now 71 and eyeing a potential presidential run in France in 2027, Du Filipan carries a message meant to counter the arrogance of the current American administration—a message reminiscent of his criticisms on the eve of the Iraq War.
“Chaos has been evident from day one of the US decision to wage war in Iraq,” he asserted, adding, “I now predict that from the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency, chaos, exorbitant economic costs, and severe strategic setbacks will spell the end for the new American leader.”
On Ukraine, Du Filipan expressed bafflement over the concessions President Trump has made to Russian President Vladimir Putin, especially given Russia’s ongoing economic challenges amid the conflict. He accused Trump of “succumbing to narcissism,” which forces him to make undue concessions.
Regarding Gaza, Du Filipan launched a searing critique of Trump’s plan to replace two million Palestinians with American resorts along the Mediterranean. He labeled the proposal “arrogant and destructive” and warned that such "aggressive policy" would only exacerbate terrorism and economic instability.
Du Filipan warned that Trump’s policies could usher in “a new era of chaos” with severe economic and strategic repercussions similar to those that followed the Iraq invasion.
He described the situation in Gaza as “the greatest historical scandal” and condemned France’s silence on the conflict, noting that civilians suffer the most amid the deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Challenging the notion that one can discard principles, values, and laws for a “law of the jungle,” Du Filipan called this approach “the greatest folly of this American administration.” He predicted that such a strategy will ultimately isolate the United States and render it “despised” on the global stage.
“If Trump believes in a non-liberal democracy, then here in Europe we do not subscribe to it,” Du Filipan declared. “We will fight for liberal democracy more vigorously than ever before.”
He expressed dismay at Trump’s contempt for the post-1945 global order and his disregard for Europe’s security, urging Europe to declare a state of emergency.
