It is up to the other big countries to act. ... France has the capablities. It is not enough for them just to sit around near the airport.

Senior British defense official
September 20, 2006 (Mirror)

There is no question that we can take some of our forces away from Kabul to send them to the south of Afghanistan.

Michèle Alliot-Marie,
French Defense Minister and
former dimmest bulb in the dark Chirac marquee™
PARIS September 21, 2006 (Reuters)

ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES STILL STAND TOGETHER AGAINST TYRANNY
By Andrew Roberts, author of
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900

September 23, 2006 (Telegraph) - It was during his Wilderness Years of the 1930s that Churchill had conceived the idea of a book that would, in his words, "lay stress upon the common heritage of the peoples of Great Britain and the United States of America as a means of enhancing their friendship". ... Superb though Churchill's volumes are, they stop with the dawn of the 20th century, just as by far the most interesting part of the English-speaking peoples' story was about to begin. Churchill's tale ended with the British Empire and American Republic enjoying peaceful world-primacy, yet they were just about to be subjected to four great assaults: from Prussian militarism, fascist aggression, Soviet Communism and presently from totalitarian Islamic terrorism. In the fourth and latest of these assaults, victory is clearly nowhere yet in sight.

... Simply because a victorious exit strategy is not immediately evident in Iraq or Afghanistan today does not invalidate either conflict, as so many defeatists and Left-liberal political commentators argue so vociferously.

... By far the most justifiable war in recent history is the one we are presently fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban, the government that hosted and protected al-Qa'eda when it killed nearly 3,000 innocent people – including 67 Britons [and a single Frenchman, Thierry Saada] – on 9/11. Today, that war is principally being fought by 15,000 Americans, 4,500 Britons, 2,200 Canadians, 550 Australians and special forces contingents from New Zealand. Germany has confined its troops to the quiet north, France to guard duty on the Khyber Pass.

Once again, therefore, the English-speaking peoples find themselves in the forefront of protecting civilisation.

PFFT (What is this?): Anglophones protecting Western civilization 4 | Francophones protecting Kabul's airport cocktail lounge 4 | Rayonnement français 0

The last two Frenchmen who were killed last month were not on "guard duty", Damian. Another crass attempt to get some much needed attention, as no one seems to be reading your crap anymore it seems.

The French Ministry of Defense has announced that two French soldiers belonging to French special forces were killed last friday during a firefight against Talibans in the Eastern part of Afghanistan.

Two other French soldiers have been wounded during the operation, according to the Ministry.

French Defense Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, expressed her emotion and sent her condolences to the families and friends of the soldiers, and expressed hopes the two wounded soldiers would recover quickly.

Soldiers belonging to the French special forces fight terrorism in Afghanistan alongside the US forces.

Contributions to "Enduring Freedom":

"France has been one of the largest contributors of naval and air forces to Operation Enduring Freedom. A carrier battle group, led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and comprising 24 aircraft, was deployed from December 2001 through June 2002 and carried out 10% of coalition air operations, including 30% of reconnaissance missions. Currently there are more than 4,200 French military personnel operating in and around Afghanistan. The French Air Force has deployed C-160 Transall and C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as well as two refuelling aircraft to Manas, Kyrgyzstan, for humanitarian assistance, coalition airlift support and aerial refuelling. Six Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft have also deployed to Manas to provide close air support capability. Maritime patrol aircraft deployed in Djibouti are participating daily in intelligence, surveillance and sea reconnaissance missions. French engineers helped construct runways, a tent city and a munitions storage facility at Manas."

http://www.naa.be/default.asp?SHORTCUT=247

And, yet, here you are, M. Zmx, reading our crap, confounding your very claim. Have you nothing better to do than to class yourself among the nobodies?

Ah, but you are not alone. Our readership numbers are publicly available. Click on the multi-color square below the blogroll at right. That you equate lack of comments with lack of readership speaks to your limited analytic talents.

We tend a small garden here, because our subject, France, is a small subject.

The report you cite is almost four years old and doesn't reflect the current complaints. But then, France is all about past glories.

We do not mock the dead. And we have given the French soldier in the field his due. We do mock the political leadership of France that presumes France to be the equal of the United States, yet struggles with a deployment of 16,000 non-sovereign troops. To the careful reader these things are apparent.

DGB

Bonjour,

[Here is M. AB/AY with another off-topic rant. This time something to do with the Easter Uprising. We are at a loss why he has buried it in this spent thread, certain never to be read. It has been deleted. Do not weep for the loss.

The Management]

Good luck to your country in Irak , dear Milton !!!!