Gilbert Achcar teaches politics and international relations at the University of Paris. He's the author of the recently released book, "The Class of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder." He was interviewed on the KPFA Morning Show on March 3, 2003 -- to discuss his book, Iraq and the war on terrorism.
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mp3 runtime = 24:50
One of the refreshing things about Achcar's analysis is that he contends France and Russia approach the Iraq issue from self-serving economic prerogatives. Achcar's characterization of France's initial less than noble orientation speaks to his lucidity as an intellectual -- and to his honesty.
I'd argue that even though the French government started down the current path for primarily economic and geopolitical interests, the fact that the French populace is strongly against war on principle makes it particularly difficult for the French government to flip-flop even if they wanted to consider U.S. bribes or other friendly forms of persuasion.
I haven't read the book yet so I can't comment on it. Here's the publisher's page, with further background on Gilbert Achcar:
http://www.monthlyreview.org/clashofbarbarisms.htm
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