Fawning over France

Now, honestly, I'm not a big fan of France in general, though I am French. I think the French are cowards and underhanded for their sneaking around with Saddam Hussein and refusal to help us depose such a good friend.

Here we have an article: France Steps Up Role in War on Terror.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - As the going gets tougher for the U.S. military in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region, one ally has stepped up despite a recent straining of ties: France.

Paris has significantly boosted its military presence in Central Asia and Afghanistan, plus in nearby seas, as both it and Washington nurture their budding rapprochement after a bitter falling out over the Iraq war.

French fighters have been flying sorties under U.S. command in Afghanistan since Aug. 16, and France also took command this month of an international naval task force on terrorism-related patrols in the seas between the Horn of Africa and Pakistan.

France has kept about 900 troops in Afghanistan since 2003, including 200 Special Forces soldiers fighting alongside the Americans. Its air force periodically has joined the U.S.-led coalition since taking its biggest role in the war's opening weeks in 2002, when France had 5,500 troops in the region.

Now, let's give credit where credit is due. Good for the French. Thanks for helping out a bit in Afghanistan.

Yet, I'm not about to fawn all over them like this article does. When it comes down to it, the French wouldn't help fight the overall War on Terror. The French didn't just say, "no thanks, we prefer not to send troops," they said, "The United States is evil and tyrannical and wrong." Two very different approaches the French could have taken---of course they take a typical French one.

They prefer to sit in their little cafes in Paris having whine and cheese, rather than free the world.

And you wonder why Germany was able to invade so many times.