Posted on 11/23/2015 11:35:27 AM PST by DoodleDawg
France's military may suffer from a poor reputation in American popular imagination, dating from historical events like the rapid fall to Nazi Germany in World War II and the colonial-era defeat at Dien Bien Phu. This is a mistake: The French airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria are only the beginning of the counterattack against ISIS, as French officials themselves are promising. And as anyone familiar with France's military capabilities can attest, when it comes to war the French are among the very best. Moreover, whatever France does probably will not look like anything the U.S. would do. There is a French way of warfare that reflects the French military's lack of resources and its modest sense of what it can achieve. They specialize in carefully apportioned and usually small but lethal operations, often behind the scenes; they can go bigger if they have help from the U.S. and other allies—which they will probably have in any case and know how to put to good use.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
To really get a grasp of what is going on here, I highly recommend the 1966 movie, “The Battle of Algiers”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers
It is an extremely harsh movie, but fairly well balanced. So much so that the US Pentagon screened to in 2003, to get insights about the Iraq occupation:
“The Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict at the Pentagon offered a screening of the movie on August 27, regarding it as a useful illustration of the problems faced in Iraq. A flyer for the screening read:
“How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.”
According to the Defense Department official (Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict) in charge of the screening, “Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French.”
Importantly, what matters *less* is that it was a foreign power occupying a Muslim nation, than the sheer number of Muslims involved. Had enough Muslims been in France, the violence would have been similar.
http://www.examiner.com/article/as-muslim-population-grows-what-can-happen-to-a-society
Being reduced to approx. 7K.
I hope you are right. I fear we will need them in the coming years. A rule of engagement I would like to see in the next campaign we actually engage in? Civilians with Cameras are to be shot first. Only the military is allowed to record ops. If I were the President...lol... and we had to go to war, I'd look hard to find the right General. Then I would let him pick his team. Then I would give him the mission and a secret satphone. "General, Execute the mission at your discretion and call me when it's done. The entire might of the United States Military is at your disposal. If you need nuclear munitions, please consult with me first."
This is very true. One thing our putz in the white hut got right, France was our very first and most important ally. We would not have won the Revolutionary War without them. Then again, they were instrumental in the war of 1812 when the Brits came back for seconds.
mecca's coordinates are:
21o25'N 39o49'E
Just sayin'...
Oak Leaf Clusters? How about Eagles? The full “bird” colonels will get stars before the oak leaf lt. colonels do.
Just last evening I watched a French television program called “The Insider” on Netflix (with English subtitles) showing the training activities of the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment, a group specialized in airborne infiltration, recon, intelligence gathering, and special ops action behind enemy lines. Sort of the French SAS. The host, Alain Figarz, seems to be a French martial arts expert and action film stunt coordinator. Interesting program showing one elite section of their forces.
Yeah sure. And French Intelligence is among the best as well.
They higher they get, the more they are corrupted. IMO. I sure hope there are some good men left at bird-grade.
I have more confidence that the next great general is currently a Major or a light Colonel. IMO.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope the next great warrior General is actually a General right now ... we'll need him on Day One of the next presidency. But I don't believe it.
YMMV.
We'll see what happens.
Individual French servicemen, spies, and cops are among the very best in the world and are to be respected. The failure has always been in their military and political leadership.
Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to the French. DeGrass’s fleet stopped the British fleet from getting to Yorktown to help Cornwallis and the result was we won the Revolutionary War.
Thanks for the reply. I understand your concerns.
Have you noticed in Trump’s speeches, he frequently mentions former Gen. Petraeus and how he was ripped to shreds by the Obungabots, while Hillary gets a pass for galactically worse things?
This may be borderline insanity, but a wild thought has gone through my little six volt mind. You say the new POTUS will need a real warrior General, right from Inaugeration Day onward. You don’t suppose Trump might have things set up to reactivate Petraeus the minute he himself is sworn in?
He also frequently mentions having had conferences with “generals”. I would not be the least bit shocked if some or all of those generals were individuals Obunga sacked for being too agressive, etc., like the one in North Africa at the time, who protested being ordered to stand down on 9-11-2012.
I think that would put the entire ME on notice, friend and foe alike, that the crap is going to stop, immediately, if not sooner!
Happy Thanksgiving.
Maybe. But Haiti broke loose very early on. They've been independent almost for as long as we have. Differences between English and French possessions might not have been as great then as they were later on.
The main difference AFAIK was that in Haiti the enslaved villages were moved from Africa whole, while in the British colonies in the new world the slaves were separated from each other as they were dispersed, so that the culture from the "old country" would have had less effect. To what extent the "maroons" of Jamaica were able to retrieve their African-based culture is a matter of ethnosociological debate, but it's fairly evident in Haiti, and to a lesser extent in Cuba.
french Spies have a licence to kill (as do Russians) and are masters of faking “accidents” to get rid of traitors and all who get in the Way of the Republic. You betray France and you become “accident Prone” —step in front of a bus, or drive drunk and get into a fatal accident. The French have a mean streak in them that can make them a grim and terrible enemy. they are masters of the “Dirty Trick” When England and Argentina were at war—and Argentina wanted to buy French Air to surface rockets—The French sold it to them (but only for Gold bars) Then when they wanted to ship them—their was a dock strike. Then they found the papers were not signed by the right offical—when the Argentines went to get the right signiture the man was on a long vacation somehwre in Nepal. In short the war was over before they got the deadly rockets. No one can drag their feet like the French.
Thier old, now new best friend Mr Putin is going in for the assist!
Sadly, our dear leader, made some red lines on a markerboard, then had to run; for his tee time.
I have heard the same about Agincourt,Saint Crispin’s Day 1415.
Deep mud and armor, did not work then, nor in RVN.
That is true. For their money, they get a better roi with their military. As for a trick, a recent one was the Rainbow Warrior, lol, and that was to Greenpeace.
**** “Civilians with Cameras are to be shot first” ****
If you changed that to Civilians with Press Credentials, ok
Real History needs to be recorded, what the enemy wants or needs is immaterial
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