[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

Why did you change the title? It's a poll. The French believethe campaign is failing--in a poll. They do not claim as your replacement title indicates.

As to the "success" or "failure" of this campaign--how will Americans guage the outcome?--Those who are still sentient enough to want to know what's going on, that is.

And, by the way, what IS the goal? Is it the childishly fatuous goal of rooting out terrorism in the world? Vanquishing Evil? Smoking out Osama and his--perhaps tens-of-thousands--of toadies.

If so, then the French--rational as always--are correct--so far.

But I'm an American and I know that Shoeless George will have, at the very least, given Evil a bloody nose by the time the calla lillies are in bloom....

We saved their sorry assess? In round One of the campaign to make the world safe for democracy we waited until the end--until the Europeans were bled out. Most of the action took place on French soil. Imagine the soil of Ohio awash with millions of dead humans. Imagine life under those circumstances. And yet, the French maintained their culture.

Had we kept our noses out of Round One, and followed the advice of our Founders, Round Two would not have happened. England and France would have been forced to sign a very different peace accord than the one signed at Versailles. So one could accurately state that the US intervention in WWI made WWII inevitable.

In the midst of your comtempt you might also consider the fact that through all of the twists and turns of their history, the French have managed to maintain a recognisably French culture and French way of living. Has The Last Remaining Superpower On Earth managed to do that--for all our wealth and military might?

[NewAmsterdam]

My goodness! I found a person who is obviously very intelligent and dares to speak sense. You must be one of the few who do not subscribe to the 'let's nuke them all'type of approach. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

[grammymoon]

Oh, right.

Their culture of bad manners, snotty waiters and overpriced food?

I vowed years ago that France was not worth my time or money.

There is not one American person who has been to France that I know who did not
come back with a Rudeness report on the unwashed French population.

Why bother?

[mercy]

PULLLLEASSSSE! What good is over-done food and the worlds best wine when the whole country is drowning in socialist filth? Only a frog would hold up a faggot fru fru 'culture' as more important than freedom. Have some more cheese.

[grammymoon]

PS Keep your "culture"

[rightwingextremist1776]

French claim that they actually won a battle! f'ing frogs!!!

[CWOJackson]

"...recognisably French culture and French way of living."

Being a long lived society of arrogant arses is nothing to admire. Perhaps if the French got over themselves a bit they might be able to shake off their culture and way of living.

[parting shot]

The only reason they have a French culture is because we saved their skinny @$$ in WWII. otherwise you would be speaking German,if you lived long enough to learn it.)O|O(

[newwahoo]

"through all of the twists and turns of their history, the French have managed to maintain a recognisably French culture and French way of living. Has The Last Remaining Superpower On Earth managed to do that--for all our wealth and military might?"

No, we've been able to maintain NUMEROUS types of culture, all of which are distinctly American. I'd say that Southern, Western and Urban cultures are all unique and yet as American as can be. There are also subcultures present here that are too numerous to mention, and that are emulated around the world.

The French can keep the snails and frog's legs.

[parting shot]

I recommend you take a close look at the recent post

German Navy, "WE STAND BY YOU" (:>)

[CaptSkip]

If you are not part of the solution, YOU are part of the PROBLEM. The French are arrogant jerks that can't get the job done, and will have to decide...are you with US, or the terrorists?

I hope they/YOU choose wisely.

[11th Earl of Mar]

through all of the twists and turns of their history, the French have managed to maintain a recognisably French culture

A culture like spitting on the American troops that rescued them from the Nazis? We know all about that culture.

And the reason we don't like them is BECAUSE they have "mangaged to maintain" this same culture.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

I agree with you that people should resist the temptation to rewrite headlines of articles. I note that you are getting the standard anti-French diatribes that are so tiresome and so, shall we say, non-educational, as an educated woman such as you would comprehend. I have figured out only recently that the vast majority of the Americans seem to think that the fact that a country surrenders in war is to be interpreted as a moral failing and done in lieu of actually fighting. What do they suppose "surrendering" to superior force entails?

I shall post for their edification (although I am sure you will find it consonant with your own knowledge) the following snippet from an article I found after about one minute's search:

The human cost of the war fell heaviest on the USSR, for which the official total, military and civilian, is given as more than 20 million killed. The Allied military and civilian losses were 44 million; those of the Axis, 11 million. The military deaths on both sides in Europe numbered 19 million and in the war against Japan, 6 million. The U.S., which had no significant civilian losses, sustained 292,131 battle deaths and 115,187 deaths from other causes. The highest numbers of deaths, military and civilian, were as follows: USSR more than 13,000,000 military and 7,000,000 civilian; China 3,500,000 and 10,000,000; Germany 3,500,000 and 3,800,000; Poland 120,000 and 5,300,000; Japan 1,700,000 and 380,000; Yugoslavia 300,000 and 1,300,000; Romania 200,000 and 465,000; France 250,000 and 360,000; British Empire and Commonwealth 452,000 and 60,000; Italy 330,000 and 80,000; Hungary 120,000 and 280,000; and Czechoslovakia 10,000 and 330,000.
**********
It seems that France may have lost a quarter of million soldiers fighting in WWII, ALMOST AS MANY AS THE UNITED STATES, with a population of about one third. I shall now do a search to see whether there really is a chapter in the French Army Manual "how to surrender graciously".

[Angelique]

You have made some excellent points, especially regarding our involvement in WW I. Referencing the French in WWII, you are correct about the state of the nation being in turmoil. Further, there are so many other factors, but I find the most gauling of such gauche remarks is that our own FDR gave away the store to Russia. How strange that the USA folks here bash the French, but do not look at the real cowards, such as FDR and Clinton!

[Angelique]

You have made some excellent points, especially regarding our involvement in WW I. Referencing the French in WWII, you are correct about the state of the nation being in turmoil. Further, there are so many other factors, but I find the most gauling of such gauche remarks is that our own FDR gave away the store to Russia. How strange that the USA folks here bash the French, but do not look at the real cowards, such as FDR and Clinton!

[c. l. coffman]

There are 3 problems with your argument:
1. The French think Jerry Lewis is a genius.
2. The French think Sylvester Stallone is a genius.
3. French cooking is bad food in good sauce.

[Libertarian_4_eva]

So one could accurately state that the US intervention in WWI made WWII inevitable.

Wrong it was our president Woodrow Wilson that warned both the french and english to not abuse germany with harsh reparations. They both ignored him and got stung in the ass by the germans a few years later. I could aruge that it was the bad decisions of the english and french governments that caused world war two.

[pfflier]

Ribbeting

[mlocher]

thanks for the hegellian view.

please do not read the rest of the comments so that you will have a good weekend.

i like to poke fun at the french (and the germans, and the english...) but for a good meal and a good beverage, vive la france!