-- PARIS -- New hints that France may rejoin NATO's military wing after a 41-year absence underscore a stunning foreign-policy shift under new President Nicolas Sarkozy.Which has set hearts aflutter at NATO HQ.
The case for reassessing France's NATO membership was made last month by French Defense Minister Herve Morin.
NATO officials have reacted positively to the prospect of France rejoining the military command. Having Paris back in the military fold was "very important," Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters last month.And as with de Gaulle, this seems to be down to the drive and personality of one man.
War hero-turned-president Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO's military command in 1966, irked by Washington"s dominating role.
Mr. Sarkozy casts himself as a break from France's Gaullist past. He has vowed a "rupture" in traditional France-Africa relations and cooled ties with Russia. He has improved relations with Israel, and he and Mr. Kouchner have adopted the tough U.S. line against Iran's nuclear ambitions.
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