Friday, February 8, 2008

France Considers Increased Afghan Troop Commitment


Oh boy. France, who has a whopping (note sarcasm) 1,500 troops in all of Afghanistan, has decided that it will think about adding a whopping (more sarcasm) 1,000 troops to the raging battle in southern Afghanistan.
I've had it. Are we mice or men? 1,000 troop increase is this hard of a decision? Do the French need close up photos of the innocent Americans who jumped from the top floors of the Twin Towers? Can't the French remember the Madrid bombings? Glasgow attempt? France, do you think that if you commit 1,000 more troops to kill Taliban jihadists that you will be subjected to more muslim rioting in your country? Who controls your destiny, France? You or a bunch of immigrant misfits?

I do have to give credit to the Canadians for the hard stance the other day - Harper really stirred up the waters and at least has other NATO countries considering how wimpy they really have been in the effort.

Here's the full story.


France Mulls Increased Afghan Role
Feb 8 05:24 AM US/Eastern
By PAUL AMES
Associated Press Writer

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - France is considering sending forces to join the fight against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and planned talks Friday with Canadian officials requesting 1,000 troops to support its beleaguered soldiers in volatile Kandahar province.
A reversal of France's refusal to deploy combat units to the southern front-lines would ease tensions within NATO. A rift has emerged in the alliance between nations such as the United States, Canada and Britain, who have troops in the south, and those like France, Germany and Italy, whose units operate in the relative safety of north and west Afghanistan.
However, French officials cautioned that it was unlikely Paris would provide all the troops Canada is seeking and said a decision on whether to deploy was unlikely before April, when NATO leaders meet for a summit in Bucharest, Romania.

The lack of support from key European allies in southern Afghanistan has provoked stark warnings this week from the United States about the future of alliance unity and prompted an ultimatum from Canada.
Ottawa said it would withdraw its 2,500 troops from their key role in the 43,000-strong NATO force next year unless it got reinforcements. Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Ottawa wants an offer of help by the April summit in Bucharest.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin on Thursday said France would help Canada, but declined to give details. He suggested President Nicolas Sarkozy could announce a strengthening of the French role in Afghanistan with a redeployment of the 1,500 French troops that are mostly in Kabul area.
"My message to the Canadian public is 'be a bit patient,'" Morin said when asked if France would help in the south. However, he added that a media report that Sarkozy was considering the deployment of 700 paratroopers to the south was premature.

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