Chirac, the bomb and terrorism
By Allan Topol
Published January 26, 2006

In the past several years, we have often seen bizarre positions emanating from Paris on matters of foreign policy. Even with all of that, it was surprising to hear French President Jacques Chirac's statement last week that France was prepared to launch a nuclear strike against any country that sponsors a terrorist attack against French interests.

This wasn't a casual offhand comment by Mr. Chirac. Rather, it was made during a visit to a nuclear submarine base in Brittany. The text of his speech was posted on the presidential Web site. In it he stated, "All of our nuclear forces have been configured in this spirit." Although Mr. Chirac did not name any specific countries, which might be targets of a French nuclear attack, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the likely targets. These include Iran, as well as Arab countries in the Middle East. What is so surprising is that Mr. Chirac's government has in the past favored an approach of conciliation or even appeasement toward Iran and the Arab nations. He was, after all, the vociferous foe of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and a hard line against Iran. That approach benefited French companies that were able to obtain lucrative contracts in competition with corporations based in the land of the great Satan. So, what happened? There are two contributing factors. The first is the civil unrest in France several months ago, which involved nightly riots and a myriad of car burnings in many areas of the country. This violence had the same kind of impact upon Mr. Chirac and the French government that September 11 had upon the United States.

In his speech, Mr. Chirac bluntly declared, "In numerous countries, radical ideas are spreading, advocating a confrontation of civilizations." Mr. Chirac now understands the problem. The jihadists are attempting to capture town by town, areas within Western Europe. As one French government official put it, "This is more than a clash of civilizations. It is a cancer within our country that if unchecked will destroy all of France."

With his statements, Mr. Chirac is warning Iran and the Arab countries to desist in supporting and encouraging residents of France who launched last year's attacks and are undoubtedly planning to do far worse. His approach is to cut off terror at the source. This resembles the policy being pursued by the U. S. government, although it is hard to imagine how great the public outcry would be if President Bush threatened to use nuclear weapons.

The second contributing factor is the failure of the Europeans -- namely France, Germany and England -- to reach an agreement with Tehran controlling the development of Iranian nuclear weapons. About a year ago, the Bush administration, having been subjected to constant criticism about the destruction of Saddam Hussein's despotic and menacing Iraqi regime, wisely said to the Europeans, "You go deal with http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060125-095139-5283r (1 of 2)1/26/2006 4:01:44 AM Chirac, the bomb and terrorism -- The Washington Times Iran." It meant making the Europeans part of the process.

After a year, the results are clear. Tehran did nothing but mislead and stonewall the Europeans who now have nothing except a record of deceit to show for several months of negotiations which were in good faith from their side. Moreover, the official Iranian government statements emerging from the fanatical elected president demonstrate that if anything Tehran's position is hardening on the development of nuclear weapons.

There is no point gloating over the Europeans' failure to deal with Tehran. The new radicalism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has now emerged front and center as one of the toughest foreign policy issues for the Bush administration. At this point, we don't have a policy for dealing with Tehran and we haven't had one for several years.

In Washington, the time has come to act. We can forget about the United Nations. Russia and China will veto any U.N. resolution calling for action. We have to sit down with our European allies. Mr. Chirac may suddenly be more agreeable to a hardline approach. Newly elected Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany seems more sympathetic to the U.S. position, and Prime Minster Tony Blair should be amenable.

We should develop a consensus for an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities even if it means a reduction in Iranian oil with a significant impact on Western economies. We have to act before the lunatics in Tehran have nuclear weapons.

Allan Topol is an international lawyer and the author of several novels, including the bestseller "Enemy of My Enemy."
Copyright © 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

News: February 15, 2005

Enemy Of My Enemy is off to a fantastic start and made it on the Barnes & Noble Bestseller List the first week of publication.

News: January 28, 2005

ENEMY OF MY ENEMY On Sale FEBRUARY 2005 National bestselling author Allan Topol returns with a lightning-paced thriller that takes readers into the shifting sands of international intrigue and the silent war against terror. PERSONAL APPEARANCES: Thursday, Feb. 3: Borders in Concourse D at Dulles Airport, 2:00-5:00 pm. Friday, Feb. 4: Barnes & Noble, 12th & E, Washington, DC, 12:00-2:00 pm. Saturday, Feb. 5: Barnes & Noble, Rockville, Maryland, 1:00-4:00 pm. Sunday, Feb. 6: Barnes & Noble, Friendship Heights, Washington, DC, 2:00-5:00 pm. Monday, Feb. 7: Borders, 18th & L, Washington, DC, 12:00-2:00 pm. Saturday, Feb. 19: Calvert Woodley Wine Store, Washington, DC, 1:00-4:00 PM Sunday, Feb. 20: Borders, White Flint Mall, Rockville, Maryland, 1:00-4:00 pm. Monday, Feb. 21: Barnes & Noble, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26: Barnes & Noble Clarendon, Virginia, 1:00-4:00 pm. Saturday Mar. 5: Barnes & Noble, Downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1:30-3:30 pm. Wednesday, Mar. 9: Brentano's, Century City Mall, Los Angeles, California, 12:00-2:00 pm.

News: June 21, 2004

CONSPIRACY New Release On Sale Now Conspiracy has been chosen by a large group of book stores in the Philadelphia area to be their "read and ride" July fiction book club selection. Conspiracy will be prominently displayed during July in these bookstores. In addition, Allan Topol will be making appearances at many of these stores.

News: September 9, 2003

Dark Ambition continues to sell throughout the country. The novel was prominently discussed in an article which appeared in the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, on June 2, 2003. This paper, published five times a week, enjoys a large circulation among people working in congress and those who lobby and deal with the Hill.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE.

News: April 14, 2003

Allan Topol will appear at the 4th Annual Bethesda Literary Festival in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday, April 26th, at 3 pm. Allan will appear with Congressman Peter King, author of "Justice For All" and Stephen Horn, author of "Law of Gravity". They will discuss and read excerpts from their newest works of law and political fiction.

Allan Topol is scheduled to appear for a book signing and discussion at the Barnes & Noble Book Store in Towson, Maryland, on Saturday, June 7th from 1-4 pm.

News: February 5, 2003

The Salt Lake City Library System has nominated Spy Dance as a nominee for their semi-annual Reader's Choice Award.

The Salt Lake County Library System is the largest in Utah, serving over 600,000 residents, with 18 libraries. Twice a year, the Reader's Choice Committee selects twenty or more recently published titles that have been recommended by other staff or customers. These books are on display at each Salt Lake County Library for a four-month period. After reading any of the books on their Reader's Choice list, customers may rate the books using one of their ballot forms.

News: January 6, 2003

Dark Ambition is due to be released tomorrow, the 7th of January. Today's copy of Publishers Weekly features the following review:

Dark Ambition
Allan Topol, Onyx, (480p)

John Grisham and Richard North Patterson may have a new successor in Topol. The Washington D.C. lawyer’s second thriller (after Spy Dance) exposes a power-hungry group of people in the White House’s inner sanctum. When womanizing Secretary of State Robert Winthrop is murdered, Washington’s top brass push for a quick conviction of Winthrop’s African-American gardener, even though many doubt his guilt. Eventually, federal prosecutor Ben Hartwell and Gillis’s attorney, Jennifer Moore (also Hartwell’s old flame), team up to uncover an intricate operation linking Winthrop’s murder to officials in the Chinese government who loathed the secretary for supporting arms build-up in Taiwan, and to someone who may have close ties to the Oval office. Suspicions fall on a broad cast of characters, including the President’s chief of staff and a young FBI agent appointed to the case. As entertaining as it is complex, this energetic narrative is loaded with close calls and compelling relationships. While keeping track of the numerous key characters isn’t always easy, Topol weaves a convincing conspiracy theory.

--Publishers Weekly

News: December 4, 2002

Dark Ambition is off to a great launch!

The first reader outside of the people involved with the book, a supervisor at a Barnes & Noble store in the Los Angeles area, has written an e-mail which states:

"Great work. You did it again. I'm happy to say I really liked your new mystery. As before, it will be an easy sell... Did you always know you had it in you to write? I would like to get a couple more [advance] copies to pass out among the employees here in the store, I want to get them as excited about Dark Ambition as I am."

Book signings are currently set for:

Wednesday, January 15, 7:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
4801 Bethesda Avenue
Bethesda, Maryland

Thursday, January 16, 12:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
555 12th Street
Washington, D.C.

Thursday, February 27, 7:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
Montrose Crossing Shopping Center
12089 Rockville Pike
Rockville, Maryland

The publisher is planning ads in USA Today. I also have several speaking appearances scheduled before private groups in New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The first chapter of Dark Ambition (which you can read on this web site) is being used for on-line promotion. We have finished editing the next book, set for publication within 12 months of Dark Ambition. The subject is so explosive that my editor has asked me not to talk about it.

I would urge you to buy your copy of Dark Ambition as soon as books hit the bookstores on January 7.

News: October 9, 2002

Allan Topol's sleeper-hit debut, Spy Dance (November, 2001) became a national bestseller--now in its 4th printing.

A new master of intrigue, Allan Topol has been compared to Clancy, Ludlum, and Le Carre

Praise from such diverse sources as San Francisco Chronicle, Newt Gingrich, The Jewish Chronicle, Legal Times, and Washingtonian Online

Spy Dance is about a former CIA agent on the run. He becomes involved with a sensuous woman in the Israeli Mossad. Together, they become drawn into a plot hatched by a ruthless female French industrialist to control Saudi Arabian oil.

First time in print--Allan Topol's electrifying follow-up to his bestselling debut: Dark Ambition, On Sale January 7, 2003

Dark Ambition is about the assassination of a secretary of state. It involves the explosive political issue of China and Taiwan. Most important, it deals with what happens when powerful, ambitious individuals come to Washington to take top positions in the government--how their lives change and how they destroy others.

Topol is a senior partner at a well known Washington law firm

DARK AMBITION On Sale January 7, 2003 The secretary of state has been murdered in his home. It looks like a robbery gone wrong. It seems the prime suspect is the politician's gardener. But in Washington, D.C., nothing is as it seems. Justice Department lawyer Ben Hartwell is assigned the unenviable task of finding the truth. His greatest obstacle--and ally--is the lawyer for the accused. Together they uncover a lifetime of political intrigues, private indiscretions, personal ememies-and questionable ties to the Chinese Government--in the victim's high-level career. But was the secretary of state merely a puppet in a vast conspiracy? And if so, who cut the strings? The answers could expose America's darkest secrets--and silence anyone who digs too deep.