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Some U.S. lawmakers want to ban French water, wine and move troops from Germany
Wed Feb 12, 4:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Some members of Congress are suggesting the United States impose trade sanctions on France and withdraw U.S. troops from Germany to retaliate for opposition to U.S. policies on Iraq, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert has told associates he would like to target bottled French mineral water and wine, the paper said.
"France and Germany are losing credibility by the day and they are, I think, losing status in the world," the Post quoted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as saying. "They are walking a fine line that is very dangerous."
Hastert has instructed Republican colleagues to determine whether Congress should pass laws that would new impose health standards on bottles of Evian and other French waters, the paper said.
According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a U.S. research firm France is the leading exporter of water to the United States and sold 65 million gallons (147 million liters) in 2001.
The Post said the speaker also is exploring whether the United States should require "bright orange warning labels" on French wines that are clarified with bovine blood.
"People should know how the French make their wine, " the Post quoted Hastert spokesman John Feehery as saying.
Two U.S. wine experts contacted by the newspaper, said a few French wine growers used bovine blood as a clarifier before the process was banned in the late 1990s after the "made cow disease" scare.
There is growing momentum in Congress to move many of the 71,455 U.S. troops from Germany, the Post said.
Marine Gen. James Jones the U.S. commander in Europe, recently briefed lawmakers on a plan to change the U.S. military presence in Europe by moving troops out of Germany to make them less reliant on bases in Germany and more flexible, the newspaper quoted White House and congressional officials as saying.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter said French and German attitudes toward U.S. policy in Iraq will make the modernization plan easier to sell to lawmakers, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
A bipartisan group of senators announced plans Tuesday to introduce a resolution thanking 18 European nations for standing with the United States_ and against France and Germany.
Some U.S. lawmakers want to ban French water, wine and move troops from Germany
Wed Feb 12, 4:37 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Some members of Congress are suggesting the United States impose trade sanctions on France and withdraw U.S. troops from Germany to retaliate for opposition to U.S. policies on Iraq, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert has told associates he would like to target bottled French mineral water and wine, the paper said.
"France and Germany are losing credibility by the day and they are, I think, losing status in the world," the Post quoted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as saying. "They are walking a fine line that is very dangerous."
Hastert has instructed Republican colleagues to determine whether Congress should pass laws that would new impose health standards on bottles of Evian and other French waters, the paper said.
According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a U.S. research firm France is the leading exporter of water to the United States and sold 65 million gallons (147 million liters) in 2001.
The Post said the speaker also is exploring whether the United States should require "bright orange warning labels" on French wines that are clarified with bovine blood.
"People should know how the French make their wine, " the Post quoted Hastert spokesman John Feehery as saying.
Two U.S. wine experts contacted by the newspaper, said a few French wine growers used bovine blood as a clarifier before the process was banned in the late 1990s after the "made cow disease" scare.
There is growing momentum in Congress to move many of the 71,455 U.S. troops from Germany, the Post said.
Marine Gen. James Jones the U.S. commander in Europe, recently briefed lawmakers on a plan to change the U.S. military presence in Europe by moving troops out of Germany to make them less reliant on bases in Germany and more flexible, the newspaper quoted White House and congressional officials as saying.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter said French and German attitudes toward U.S. policy in Iraq will make the modernization plan easier to sell to lawmakers, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
A bipartisan group of senators announced plans Tuesday to introduce a resolution thanking 18 European nations for standing with the United States_ and against France and Germany.
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