Posted on 12/23/2002 9:20:32 AM PST by Sparta
WASHINGTON, DEC 23 (PTI) France has agreed to join the United States in the event of Washington launching a military offensive against Iraq, after initially disagreeing with the Bush Administration over unilateral use of force to disarm Saddam Hussein, a media report today said.
France, a major NATO ally, has identified ground units that would be offered for the fight, The Washington Times said quoting a senior US official.
The official hinted that French combat jets would also take part, the paper added.
France was a major ally in the Gulf War in 1991. There had been some doubts about France joining in another American invasion because it has been inisting that force should not be used against Iraq except under UN auspices.
The official said there are "dozens of countries" offering support for any US military action againt Iraq. Britain, the official noted, has already said it is ready to "shed blood" to disarm Saddam Hussein and that it may commit 20,000 troops.
Other NATO allies ready to help, the official said, include Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland and possibly even Germany.
The US hopes, according to media reports, that Turkey will allow up to 60,000 US ground troops to invade Iraq from the north in addition to invasion from the south which it can mount from existing bases. Washington is also planning to invest millions of dollars to upgrade Turkish bases to house more aircraft and -- if Turkey agrees -- ground troops.
The US war plan calls for about 250,000 ground, air and naval forces.
Must have missed the ceremony where France joined NATO.
I thought that they left NATO some time ago.
Our "allies" like France and Germany have shown their true colors lately. 'Tis better to fight the enemy you know without the help of such "allies" than tolerate those ungrateful cowards who call you "Friend" with a dagger held behind their backs just waiting to stab you when you turn.
I give you what the French really think of us in a French cartoon . . .
The North Atlantic Treaty was signed in 1949. France was one of the signatory nations.
Now for the real kicker, France will probably on use the French Foreign Legion, which is really an army that in post-WWII conflicts used to shield France from responsiblity. France still wants a part of the TRADE agreements with a new Iraqi govt and needs to improve relations with the victors. France's main concern through this entire process has strictly been economic, e.g., trade with Iraq in the absence of the US.
On the other hand . . . France and Germany, as far as I know, haven't contributed "much" to our struggles around the world and it galls me for them to question our motives EVERY SINGLE TIME we take any kind of military action. To me, it's like an uninvolved outsider getting involved in a family dispute -- "Yeah, yeah, he might be an a$$hole but he's OUR a$$hole. He's OUR brother or sister and I think we can take care of them ourselves."
That kind of deal.
The French and Germans sit back and preach in righteous indignation when they don't have a dog in the fight. If they're willing to put the lives of their soldiers at risk on a consistent basis, like the UK, THEN I think they have a right to criticize. Until then, I'd prefer it if they left my brother and sister Americans out of their discussions. They haven't EARNED the right to criticize any American.
Sure, we screw up -- probably more than most other countries. Because, whether we like it or not, we're the world's only 800-pound gorilla and terrorists and zealots will be taking potshots at us regardless of how much the appeasement crowd like Carter and Pee Wee Clinton gives in to them.
We have no choice but to become proactive because we're going to be targeted anyway. Being consistently proactive means we're going to make more mistakes than the pacifist-countries like France do because we're fighting the battle on a daily basis instead of watching and critiquing from the sidelines.
My point had more to do with not judging an entire people/nation by some stupid cartoon. If we use cartoons as a benchmark- the most anti-American country in the world is- America. Ted Rall is a major perpetrator in this respect. I literally cannot stand to look at his "work".
This may be true but they did fight in Desert Storm- which was sort of NATO (in so far as a lot of NATO countries were in on it).
France is an odd nation... I read Band of Brothers recently and I laughed my a$$ off when I got to the part that read something like the American soldiers found the French to be lazy, dirty and untrustworthy. Oddly enough, the people the soldiers liked the best according to the book- the Germans.
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