Afstan: Not too Fighting French
The expectation of a commitment to a combat role seems rather less than what one might have hoped for:
Note this from the first "here" link:
...Most of the French troops will come from the 8th Regiment of Marine Infantry Paratroops. More here and here.
Defence Minister Herve Morin visited Karzai after arriving on a surprise two-day trip to meet French reinforcements deploying to a base near Kabul as part of a NATO-led force battling Taliban and other insurgents.
In their talks, Morin "assured his government stands by the people of Afghanistan," Kazai's office said in a statement...
Morin later flew to Kapisa, northeast of Kabul, to meet soldiers from an extra battalion of about 700 soldiers deploying at a base there that also has Afghan and US troops, an AFP reporter said.
France announced reinforcements to NATO's 40-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in April and the soldiers started arriving this month, taking to about 2,000 the number of French soldiers in Afghanistan.
They are due to be in place by the end of next month. Kapisa province, which adjoins Kabul, does not suffer the regular insurgent violence plaguing southern Afghanistan [emphasis added], but has seen some attacks...
About half of the French soldiers in ISAF are in Kabul. Some 170 are in the southern city of Kandahar, where France has stationed six fighter aircraft for air support in efforts against the Taliban.
The French military is also helping to train Afghan army officers and their special forces...
Note this from the first "here" link:
A ce jour, 2 cargos ont été affrétés ainsi qu’une cinquantaine de vols d’avions très gros porteurs Antonov 124 (via le contrat SALIS de l’OTAN [yet, amazingly, NATO is also acquiring C-17s--must be a reason]) et C5 Galaxy.That oh so useful USAF strategic lift. Then there were the good old days:
...
Charles De Gaulle set a plan to bring together the different groups under his leadership. He changed the name of his movement to Forces Françaises Combattantes (Fighting French Forces)...
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 4:57 p.m.
1 Comments:
"The expectation of a commitment to a combat role seems rather less than what one might have hoped for"
I ask myself why after all their fine talk, the French have chosen merely to send another battalion of uniformed tourists to Kabul and am forced to conclude:
1. There is no vital economic interest or benefit for France is at stake in Af-stan.
2. However, there is a perceived domestic political need to not unnecessarily upset French Muslims with French combat involvement in "Crusader activity" without incurring any commensurate national benefit.
3. In general principle, all that expense and trouble of combat activity is avoidably transferable to an English-speaking somebody else, "comme d'habitude".
This appears a carefully calibrated French response, just enough to give plausibility and a illusive veneer of good NATO citizenship, while minimizing French costs, such that the actual heavy-lifter nations in Af-stan will grumble a bit and turn back to their tasks, the real work in Af-stan.
Post a Comment
<< Home