Free Republic

German troops storm Greece. Putin's tanks crush Latvia. France humbles the British Army. Unlikely, yes, but as Angela Merkel says euro meltdown could endanger peace, a historian's imagination runs riot... The date is October 29, 2018, and Britain faces its darkest hour. On the battlefields of Europe, our Armed Forces have been humiliated. In makeshift prison camps on the continent, thousands of our young men and women sit forlornly, testament to the collapse of our ambitions. From the killing grounds of Belgium to the scarred streets of Athens, a continent continues to bleed. And, in the east, the Russian bear...

CHERBOURG, France (AFP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed Friday to reduce France's nuclear arsenal but said nuclear deterrence remained a "life-insurance" in the face of new threats from states like Iran. "Countries in Asia and the Middle East are rapidly developing ballistic capacities," he said in a defence policy speech to mark the inauguration of a new-generation nuclear submarine named The Terrible. "I am thinking in particular of Iran," which is "increasing the range of its missiles while serious suspicions weigh on its nuclear programme," said Sarkozy. It is "of course the security of Europe that is at stake," he...

France secretly upgrades capacity of nuclear arsenal · Modification increases range of missiles· Altitude bomb to knock out electronic systems Kim Willsher in Paris Friday February 10, 2006 The Guardian (UK) France has secretly modified its nuclear arsenal to increase the strike range and accuracy of its weapons. The move comes weeks after President Jacques Chirac warned that states which threatened the country could face the "ultimate warning" of a nuclear retaliation. A military source quoted yesterday by the Libération newspaper claimed France had tinkered with its nuclear weapons to improve their strike capability and make this threat more credible....

Could Paris teach Washington a thing or two about protecting civil liberties while tracking down terrorists at home? In the United States, revelations that the Bush administration mandated domestic spying have caused a political uproar. France, however, has been spying on its citizens for years, as part of its effective, albeit controversial, counterterrorist system. In 1988, the FBI invited Alain Marsaud, then France’s top antiterrorist magistrate, to speak about terrorism to the bureau’s new recruits at its academy in Quantico, Virginia. Marsaud, now a conservative lawmaker, told the audience of would-be feds of the deadly threat that radical Islamist terrorist...

TEHRAN, Jan 22, 2006 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac came under attack in Iran Sunday after warning that France could use nuclear arms against state sponsors of terrorism, with officials in the Islamic republic branding the remark "shameful" and "unacceptable". "It is shameful for the people of France that their president brandishes atomic weapons on the pretext of fighting terrorism," said Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, speaker of Iran's right-wing parliament. On Thursday, Chirac for the first time raised the threat of a nuclear strike on any state that launches "terrorist" attacks against France. Although he did not single out any...

The French president Jacques Chirac has made it clear he wouldn't hesitate in using nuclear weapons against terrorist states. Every state that is planning an attack on France can reckon on a suitable reaction

President Jacques Chirac for the first time on Thursday raised the threat of a nuclear response to states that launch "terrorist" attacks against France. "Leaders of any state that uses terrorist means against us, as well as any that may be envisaging -- in one way or another -- using weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would be exposing themselves to a firm and appropriate response on our behalf," he said. "That response could be conventional, it could also be of another nature," Chirac said in a clear reference to nuclear weapons during a visit to a French...

France warns 'terrorist' statesFrom: Agence France-Presse From correspondents in Ile Longue Military Base January 20, 2006 PRESIDENT Jacques Chirac has overnight raised the threat of a nuclear strike on any state that launches "terrorist" attacks against France. He also said France's doctrine of nuclear deterrence has been extended to protect the country's "strategic supplies", taken to mean oil. "Leaders of any state that uses terrorist means against us, as well as any that may be envisaging, in one way or another, using weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would be exposing themselves to a firm and appropriate response...

Thank Heaven ... Each time I see an atom bomb (We’ve 5 or 6 or 7)I can’t resist a joyous urge to smile and say,Thank heaven for atom bombs For atom bombs are bigger in every way, Thank heaven for atom bombs They blow up in the most delightful wayTheir critical masses so fine and appealing One day will flash and send you crashing through the ceiling Thank heaven for atom bombs Thank heaven for them all We’ve no army, and no navy, That dirt cheap nuclear fission will save me Thank heaven, thank heaven, thank heaven for atom bombs...

France said on Thursday it would be ready to launch a targeted nuclear strike against any state that carried out a terrorist attack on French soil. In a speech defending France's costly nuclear deterrent and toughening policy against terrorism, President Jacques Chirac said Paris must be able to hit back hard at a hostile state's centers of power and its "capacity to act". "The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to...