France Says Victim of Lies Fed By White House

International Herald Tribune -- French officials on Thursday complained formally to the White House, State Department and Congress that France had been victimized by a campaign of "repeated disinformation," allegedly fed by Bush administration sources accusing Paris of providing military and diplomatic aid to Iraq.

The administration denied the existence of any such campaign.

Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman, said of the French allegations, "There is, I don't think, any basis in fact to it." He added, "France is an ally; they're still friends."

Among other things, the stories assert that France and Germany supplied Iraq with precision switches that could be used in nuclear weapons; that French companies sold spare parts to Iraq for warplanes and military helicopters; that France possessed prohibited strains of human smallpox; and that France, most recently, helped Iraqi leaders escape to Europe by providing them with travel papers.