France pledges Afghanistan troops

[Gunny]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France will send more troops to bolster Nato's mission in Afghanistan, subject to certain conditions.
Mr Sarkozy, who is on a state visit to Britain, said he would make the offer at next week's Nato summit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

Britain and the US have frequently called on other Nato members to send more soldiers to fight the Taleban.

The Nato-led force, Isaf, currently has over 43,000 personnel in Afghanistan.

In a speech to the British parliament in London, Mr Sarkozy said the Taleban could not be allowed to regain power.

"In Afghanistan something essential is being played out," he said.

"France has proposed a strategy to its allies in the Atlantic alliance to enable the Afghan people and their legitimate government to build peace.

"If these proposals are accepted, during the summit in Bucharest, France will propose reinforcing its military presence."

more ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7315294.stm

Hell, we might have to start liking France again.

 

[Annie]

Hell, we might have to start liking France again.

Hard to believe, I was already working on that.

 

[jreeves]

Hell, we might have to start liking France again.

Yep, guess I can throw away all of those "freedom fries" and start eating "french fries" again.

 

[Annie]

Yep, guess I can throw away all of those "freedom fries" and start eating "french fries" again.

Better yet, but wine and cheese.

 

[onedomino]

Hell, we might have to start liking France again.

Sarko is such a relief after Chirac. But he is also a negotiator. I read that this might be in exchange for France's re-emergence in the upper echelon of NATO; with a French General in charge of NATO's Southern Command, a post that has always been held by an American with a British Chief of Staff. Further, Sarko wants British support for the development of an EU military force. It is not easy to see how that operates on a parallel track with NATO.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

You are aware the conditions will most likely be the French do no fighting and get posted in no dangerous provinces?

 

[onedomino]

You are aware the conditions will most likely be the French do no fighting and get posted in no dangerous provinces?

In the same article I was referring to above, it was said that the new French troops would relieve US forces in Eastern Afghanistan and that those troops would then deploy south to help the Canadians, who are reported to be very upset at Europe's (except UK) willingness to fight the Taliban to the last Canadian.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

In the same article I was referring to above, it was said that the new French troops would relieve US forces in Eastern Afghanistan and that those troops would then deploy south to help the Canadians, who are reported to be very upset at Europe's (except UK) willingness to fight the Taliban to the last Canadian.

I will believe it when it happens.

 

[Gunny]

Sarko is such a relief after Chirac. But he is also a negotiator. I read that this might be in exchange for France's re-emergence in the upper echelon of NATO; with a French General in charge of NATO's Southern Command, a post that has always been held by an American with a British Chief of Staff. Further, Sarko wants British support for the development of an EU military force. It is not easy to see how that operates on a parallel track with NATO.

I must have missed the part why anyone, to include the French, feel that France is so important? They've lost their own country twice and gotten their asses kicked in all of their traditional colonies. The only ones they seem to be able to Lord it over are North Africans.

That makes France about as uselful as Lebanon, IMO.

 

[onedomino]

I must have missed the part why anyone, to include the French, feel that France is so important? They've lost their own country twice and gotten their asses kicked in all of their traditional colonies. The only ones they seem to be able to Lord it over are North Africans.

That makes France about as uselful as Lebanon, IMO.

The French have little military significance, but they do have some residual political importance in Europe. They were dragged by the Allies to the WW2 winning side. Thus they stumbled on their veto power in the UNSC. To this day, they have a huge ethnocentric vision of their contribution to high civilization. Though the main current of post WW2 French thought, existential socialism, cannot be seen as anything other than a slow withering failure. Sartre truly found No Exit. Sarko has emerged as a symbol of French rejection of socialist economic results. How long that lasts remains to be seen. He is already receding in the polls. Meanwhile, every day a smaller percentage of the world speaks French.

Not too sure about North Africa: the French got their butts handed to them in Algeria.

French influence peaked on 14 September 1812:

“The brightness of the morning was magical. Moscow seen from the Poklonny Hill lay spaciously spread out with her river, her gardens, and her churches, and she seemed to be living her usual life, her cupolas glittering like stars in the sunlight.” -War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

But when Napoleon entered the city he found that his "victory" was empty. Moscow was virtually deserted and soon it was on fire. The Russians had set fire to their capitol. On 19 October, the "Grand Army" began its winter retreat from Russia, one of the greatest military disasters in history.

http://www.abcgallery.com/list/2002july01.html

 

[tigerbob]

Hell, we might have to start liking France again.

We didn’t get too much coverage about what Sarko said while he was here. Most of the British media seemed more interested in his wife’s décolletage. As far as the paparazzi are concerned, she's the new Jackie / Diana.

I love the way the French sit on the sidelines, then "propose a strategy" which they expect to be accepted before they even put their boots on.

Their cheeses and wines are very good, mind you.