It is to laugh.

Why is that not surprising?

Whenever I go with my father to gun shows, he always jokingly looks for used French rifles, as he puts it they are the best b/c they "have never been fired and only dropped once!"

I'm shocked this is coming from France. Shocked I tell you.

/sarc

O-o-okay, so you want guarantees that soldiers will be kept safe before you send them into a war zone...

I wonder how the U.N. would react if we made the same demand?

This is coming from Chirac and D'Estang, primarily.

The Military has probably told these two that if the send them into a 58 paratroopers bombed by Hizbo redeux, ... expect a military coup at the Elysee Palace and elections by January.

As we speak I'm printing up safety guarantees with gold-embossed lettering and fancy watermarks. Perhaps we should weave some kevlar into the design?

Maybe we should have asked for safety guarantees before Normandy...

Why don't the cheese-eaters save everyone a lot of time & trouble and simply surrender now.

Better attach a couple white flags to those safety guarantees. ;)

No shooting. No violence. No bad language. No lookism.

OK mon amis, hold on tight to your baguettes and cheese, zis iz going to be ze roff ride!

GACK!

PHBHT!

Aah-hahahaha!

*SNORT*

*WHEEZE*

*COUGH*

(lurking from work, but I couldn't help myself)

Okay, yeah this is hilarious. Very, very funny.

But remember, our government signed up to this farce. To paraphrase Gandalf:

Who is the bigger fool? The fool or the fool that follows him?

The Fwench forces are weenies. I've had the displeasure of working around them, literally.

Dear Monsieur Hitler,

Please, when maneuvering your armée in the vicinity of France, take care not to cross le Maginot Line. As long as you stay on that side, we would be most pleased to engage in a nice war with you.

Merci.

-- Les Francais

Beruit 1983, 58 killed French paratroopers bombed

Bagdad U.N. bombing redeux

Koffi setting up U.N. posts for Hizbo target practice,

... guess the French military is starting to learn.

NE TIRER PAS!

Oooh, les francais, ils sont si courageaux! 200 soldats! Vive la France!

/s

OF COURSE IT NOT SAFE YOU BLOODY FROGS! THATS WHY THEY NEED PEACEKEEPERS!

Oh for fucks sake.

Why should we begrudge the French their cowardice here? After all, Ehud Olmert & Amir Peretz set the tone for this whole situation weeks ago.

If they don't have an Oylmpic-sized swimming pool to lounge around in/by, guarantees that there won't be any unpleasantness done unto them, a supply of Speedos (yuck!) and several gallons of tanning oil, they ain't gonna play!

Either that, or since they had a large hand in training Lebanon's "troops", they know what to expect from them support-wise - nothing!

If safety is guaranteed for a soldier, then there is no need for a soldier.

Perhaps in the future, France will be smart enough to shut up and eat it's soup in the kitchen rather than trying to sit at the table with adults. Shitbirds are not suited to fly with Eagles.

Hurz...

Damn... i just said Hurz and French people disappeared... Have i said anything wrong...

Olympic, that is...or maybe I did mean "oylmpic" since they pollute the damn pool with their nasty-ass oils. Yuck.

[Link: news.bbc.co.uk...] The French were bombed by Hizb'Allah same as we were back in 1983. They were also in Lebanon

45 French paratroopers got killed when their Beirut HQ was dynamited

Like I said...

Vat doo I cayre

Az loong az I ave le frommage, le vin e la baguette, life eez beeeootifull.

Funny Frenchies...
France defends sending 200 troops

"I can't let it be said or implied that France is not doing its duty in the Lebanese crisis," the minister told French radio RTL in an interview.

"Since the start of the crisis, France is on the frontline and it is the top contributor."

France announced on Thursday it was doubling its contingent to 400 troops.

HA!

Reminds me of Brave Sir Robin.

/holy grail

I think the gravest threat French soldiers would accept is to be trapped waist-deep in chocolate.

I’m not making this up.

You couldn't be, only the French could come up with something so breath-takingly stupid.

#13 KevinV -

I think that was Obi-Wan Kenobi, not Gandalf :)

Your point is correct though...

They're sending 200 troops to protect hezbollah.

If you think about it, this is quite the deal.

France couldn't even be bothered to work overtime to keep the corpses of 15,000 of their dead senior citizens from stinking up the alleyways of Paris.

There go the cheese eating surrender monkeys again.

Wussies.

(old joke warning)

I suppose they'll be using those impeccably maintained French rifles:

"Never been fired, only been dropped once."

I can't see anything different in this and the position of the Democratic party.

#32

Gandalf and Obi Wan are almost interchangeable characters though. Thats my deep thought for the day

#28 addendum...

Alliot-Marie said troop contributions to the expanded UNIFIL force should come from a great number of countries, both in Europe and the Muslim world.

"What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world," she said.

Yes, peace must be avoided at all costs.

So the french want guaranteed safety. Guess the Israelis will have to provide this. Wait, wasn't that what Israel was trying to do...make Southern Lebanon safe?

I'm so confused.

Vive la Pussystan!

#26 dennisw - Most people don't realize or remember that, thinking we were the only ones that experienced that in Beirut. I do remember. That bombing gives them yet another excuse to waffle.

That's rich. Le French will only go to war if no one gets hurt, and they can have cheese. And wine. But never mind about the soap, they don't mind roughing it.

Does any French politician have an IQ score that requires as many as 2 digits to represent it?

The package of frozen waffles in my freezer has more balls than all of France

30 hans ze beeman

What? He didn't eat his way out? Definitely not a chocoholic, I see.

/what a way to spend vacation

So you arrange a "diplomatic" solution (as demanded by the MSM and liberal intellegencia).

Naturally, you get France to be a party to it and give them the opportunity (or responsibility) to physically participate.

And you don't know ahead of time France will screw this kind of thing up?

Maybe Bush and Rice are that dumb. Maybe not. Either way, the situation gets the result it deserves; Israel can continue to do whatever it wants.

#22 mama winger -

Well said.

Instead of "soldiers," why doesn't France just send in 400 bakers and pastry chefs? Then, Hezbolla will be too full of butter to fight.

Besides, all the French are good at is making sandwiches and baking crusty bread. I spit on their plates of cheese that smell like my hiking boots.

While it said France was prepared to command the enlarged force...

So, summing up: You want "safety guarantees," to provide 200 out of 15,000 troops, and you want to command the force?

There's arrogance, breathtaking arrogance, and then there's the French.

Can't impose peace?

Tell the UN

#43 Ellen

"I'm so excited, I can hardly wash!"

/the montgolfier brothers and the golden age of ballooning

/another monty python reference

I am sure the Islamics will be more than happy to give them all the guarentees they want. Afterall, they have always honored their peace agreements with infidels in the past.

France...once the most powerfull empire in the face of the earth..Napoloen's armies marched across europe and won countless battles has been reduced to..."Oh, we don't want to get hurt". Oh how the mighty have fallen.

I had to read the entire article on that one -- surely there was more to it than was quoted on LGF.

But nope, that's the real deal. France pushed it through the U.N., but now when it comes to implementing it, is wimping out.

And "guarantees of safety" for their military before they'll do any "peacekeeping"? Wow. Wish they had mentioned that little detail before the U.N. assembly.

Anyone see that video of the French commandos landing on a beach and then getting stuck in the mud.I wish I had a link to it.

LMAO

"What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,"

Silly, doesn't she know there can be no peace in the Muslim world anyway?

I guess when the French first agreed to putting thousands of Peace keepers they confused the meaning of that word with vacation.

However this does give two advantages.

1. Since all countries want to send peacekeepers... to cyprus to run logistics, it literally allows the resolution to collapse on it's own weight of stupidity.

(Anyone saying that Israel rejecting countries like Indonesia or whatever else that doesn't recognize it is the reason, is complete crap. Those countries would only send a few hundered each, at most 1,000. So those countries could still not put together a large enough force, unless it was to attack Israel.)

2. It'll make round 2 a lot easier, since Israel won't even have to warn the non-existent force to get out.

Many French soldiers are crack troops. Their political and military leadership is their biggest hindrance to their success, as it has always been.

The Hezzies/Iran are rearming as we speak, and spending millions trying to buy more local Lebanese support. The French know they are the ones who will be caught in the crossfire of Round Two, coming very soon.

French troops won't be able to go in unless they put air bags on all the bullets in Lebanon

The UN can't even muster 1/3 of the force needed to get the peacekeeping team in place.

What's really, really sad is that multi culti heads are nodding all over the western world in agreement with Michele's statement.

How long til these 400 French kids take their shahada? Any guesses?

Does anyone else get the sense that the Lebanese and UN troops are merely Hizballah reinforcements being inserted under the cover of a ceasefire?

Simply beyond parody

This looks like something that the Onion or Scrappleface would make up.

(oh boy - here it comes)

French Defence Minister...

Michele...

figures...

But of course !
We should send 150,000 Marines to protect the French expeditionary force.

And we should be protectd by 3,000,000 Indian Gurkhas.

Which should be protected by 150,000,000 Chinese Troops.

And Lebanon would be safe and the hizb'allah problem solved.

We are too stupid to understand the subtle French strategical thinking.

Have the French troops found out that the 3000+ troops from Bangladesh are not their personal concierge?

Murqy

Did Dreamy hit a triple while I was at lunch?

#30 hans

HA! That's my town!

#49 Darwin Akbar
Clearly you have never had a true French sandwich. Dry, no mayo, no meat or vegetables. No Rueben or Tuna melt. Quiznos would be declared a French National treasure if the Frogs had only thought of it. But of course they didn't. ; )

I wonder if the french army (all humor aside), is getting sick of being thought of as pussies. I am sure they are well trained, tough and dedicated. Surely they realize they appear totally castrated and want some payback for what happened to them in Beirut.
I am not talking about the generals, I am talking about the actual fighters.

I saw the word fromage earlier, which made me search YouTube, looking for that Monty Python sketch about about Angus Podgorney, Wimbledon, and the blancmange from the planet Skyron in the galaxy Andromeda.

Alas, no video. :-(

/ach, you're a stupid man, angus podgorney!

Viva La France! Leave it to the Frogs to make sure all their soldiers keep their manicures pristine. Why is this not surprising?

Why is everyone here so hostile towards the French? Isn't it about time that the French strategy ("Peace through the imposition of delicious creamy sauces on the warring parties") is tried ?

France stinks.

#59 WVObiwan

The French know they are the ones who will be caught in the crossfire of Round Two, coming very soon.

The French know perfectly that they could solve the problem in 24 hours by sending in La Legion and the Marsouins and other Special Forces.

The fact is, they don't want to fight against the islamists because they are already INVADED !

well. I mean it is the FWENCH we're talking about! How can you expect them to go off to war with the chance they'll actually have to fight!? :)

All froggy-bashing aside, why the hell would any french military contingent want to even go there in the first place? To be inadvertent cannon fodder for the Hizzies?

This whole charade is just more proof for how utterly useless the UN is in doing anything.

#76 P-L

The fact is, they don't want to fight against the islamists because they are already INVADED !

I think that's a large part of it. The islams have them by the throat in their own country, and they don't want to risk a burning at the stake.

Ah, the French, you don't even have to work at being disdainful of them. We ought to invade them armed with razor strops and take any good looking women they have, pee on the cheese and return home, with our bare asses turned toward them for goodbye kisses as we leave.

OT from the incident at Tri-State Airport yesterday:

The 28-year old woman at the center of a scare at Tri-State Airport in Wayne County was expected to fly home to Michigan today out of Tri-State. NewsChannel 3's Doug Korstanje is at the airport and reports that the security division at US Airways will not allow Rima Qayyum to fly on its airline today.

[Link: www.wsaz.com...]

French Defence Minister shopping list:

lilac water
evian
baguettes and frommage
squirt guns
little stinky cigarettes
foie gras
white handkerchiefs

What we must absolutely prevent is the continuation of the Muslim world imposing war on the Western world.

Waaay OT

FNC: Andrew Young pulls a Jesse Jackson (or Al Sharpton, take your pick)

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

OMG!

The west is afraid of only the image of what it will soon need to do in reality.

We are in bad shape and due for a very rude wake-up

CognitiveDissonance (#78),

This whole charade is just more proof for how utterly useless the UN is in doing anything.

How convenient.

#37 pat
I can't see anything different in this and the position of the Democratic party.

The Dems would have an even more powerful army of lawyers and ACLU types leading the the charge.

/No blood for cheese

.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,”

Otherwise the youths of the banlieues start another Parintifada, and considering that Marseille is 25 % muslim, we, French Ministers, must rethink history and take care of our own heads.

The rest of the western world can go to hell.

/All this is so sad I can only joke.

"I am coming for you Ricky Bobby" Lol, OT, but Talladega Nights is really funny. Sorry, but this humor is from a 25 y/o Medic...so it can't be trusted! ;P

Red

The French are very important to the world's economy. Just think about all the joke writers they keep employed.

While it said France was prepared to command the enlarged force, it also called for safety guarantees for its soldiers before making further commitments.

This quote describes not only the French military and political position for the last 110 years, but also echoes the moonbat battle cry:
"Authority without Responsibility"

So, the Fwench don't want to impose a peace. They certianly don't want anyone to win a peace... exactly how does one go about getting a piece?*

(Please see report filed un "UN Sex Scandal")

From link in #81: Qayyum's mother, Mian Qayyum, said she believes her four-month pregnant daughter was targeted because she was wearing a head cover, is Muslim and is a native of Pakistan.

And belives in Jihad...

#81 newsjunkie_ky

Uh, why isn't she in jail? Now it looks like she's disappeared:

Doug Korstanje reports that the FBI was going to escort Qayyum to the airport for her flight today. However, she never made it to the airport.

The reality is that this UN "peace" was not designed to last.

It was designed to paper over the Lebanon war to leave a relative and technical "calm" for August 22 when the Iranians will be held to their nuclear answer.

Don't forget that the US and UN demanded a much earlier answer (remember Condi's "weeks, not months" warning).

Notice Bush let the Iranians defy and set their own date, Aug. 22. Notice Bush didn't make a big stink about it. I didn't see ths as weakness. I saw it as poker. I know this sounds "cliche," but Bush really is playing high-stakes poker here. Do they have poker in Iran? if not, the mullahs better set up some experts to study it, ra-at quick.

When Iran doesn't give the proper answer on Aug. 22, Bush is going to pull the lever and set a lot of gears in motion.

Don't be fooled by the trees... look at the forest.

The French are there only as a temporary canary in the coal mine, one which won't wait for U.N. orders to return to home base.

Why doesn't France send these tough guys?

France admits Ivory Coast deaths

[Link: news.bbc.co.uk...]

Oh wait, the Ivorians were for the most part, unarmed, that's right.

#72 Ward

They mean to win Wimbeldon!

What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world

Die in place. Vive les yeux-vache!

/Worried about any appearance of victory, the French set preconditions for retreat and surrender.

loppy,

Not only did Dreamy triple, but he caught a fly ball with his left dimple, causing many a young hearts to flutter.

#80 "with our bare asses turned toward them for goodbye kisses as we leave.

Don't do that, they'll just follow you home, hopeing to get lucky!

What's this Muslim World crap? Been staring at too many madrassah maps recently have we?

The more I think about it, sending a faux force couldn't be more appropros to enforce such a faux peace...

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

Western World = Adults

Muslim World = Children

I think that pretty much sums up her point. Although she would never come out and say it, that's exactly what she means--and I agree. I know how condescending it is, but it's like having to walk on egg shells for a bunch of spoiled 4-year-olds.

I guess it's far safer to send the harderned French Foriegn Legion into African countries to machine gun the unarmed protestors for the selected rulers, in order to ensure exclusive French business access.

Now...if only Lebanon had oil...

Guy was looking to buy some Army Surplus, wondered if French Rifles were any good.
Problem is, no one knows...

The Times of London said... "For France to have retreated from a key role to the realm of 'symbolic' gestures 'symbolises' only one thing: a French loss of nerve..."
Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said France had discovered "that it was afraid"

Guess this isn't working out to be a fabulous PR move after all.

#103 Now...if only Lebanon had oil...cheese...

There, fixed that for you.

#95 antisocial

I think you may be on to something there...

94 Ward

Uh, why isn't she in jail? Now it looks like she's disappeared:

Probably coz the aclu would have come down on them and they were 'sceeerrred'.

They don't want to seem insensitive to islam.

If we dress all of them in Burkas and put pink helmets on their heads.

No,

they would molest each other.

Perhaps We could ask Iraq to send 10,000 troops?

You know, all this is making Bush look better and better. When it fails utterly, he can say "We tried it your way, and it failed miserably, now let the Israelis clean up the mess the world is too afraid to touch." And really, what can the response be. This is a perfect failure of the UN, absolutely and undeniably.

**Did** search for 'rifle' before posting that - sorry.

Oh, forget about the trial. Olmert should be hanged without one. What a dangerous fool!

If the French sent enough troops and allowed them to shoot to enforce the cease fire, that would be their gaurantee.

Of course the French want to command the UNFIL force.

Maybe Israel could send troops to gaurantee the safety of the French troops. Would that bias the UNFIL force? Not any more than it already is.

#37 Pat. At least the french are sending 200 troops. But does any one what kind?

Also recall france's contribution to Iraq rehabilation. The send 1 (one) cop.

#56 RJ in Reno It was canadians, not french. Send me you e-mail and I'll send you a copy.

The french troops may be a disciplined force but they have NO combat experience. Their peacekeeping adventures were limited to slaughter and rape in Africa.

But you have to admitt that this episode is drool...

#76 Poitiers-Lepanto - I thought the French Army had disbanded the French Foreign Legion some time ago. Is my memory failing me, once again?

The French obviously never intended to keep their word that they would contribute 5,000 troops to the peacekeepng force. That was just a "psych!" to get Condi to go for the plan. Once accomplished, they just walked away from it. Condi ought to have a chat with I-got-it-in-the-Colin-from-DeVillepin to se how well the French keep their word.

France can't spare any more than 200 troops, the rest are needed at home to haul off burned out cars.

#115 serfer62

I saw the video #56 RJ in Reno speaks of. Those were British Royal Marines.

Ringo called it yesterday.
Send in the mimes.

A Lebanese mourner talks into the grave of his loved one, during a mass funeral procession for the twenty nine Lebanese victims of a July 30 Israeli forces' attack, in the southern village of Qana, Lebanon, Friday Aug. 18, 2006.

"Hey! Pass me up some raisins, Ali!"

Um... Wasn't UNSCR 1559 supposed to be a security guarantee to Israel from Lebanon to disarm HizbShaitan?

Well, not directly to Israel from Lebanon, because Lebanon doesn't even recognize that The Zionist Entity™ exists. But that was a security guarantee that Lebanon was to make to the UN.

#96 elcid

AMEN. The French Armed Forces can be absolutely brutal, given the proper orders,
and is more than willing to impose the will of the "west" on black Africa, in their former colonies.
Would that were so in her former League of Nations Mandates.

-S-

Oh no, Madame Defense Minister -- we must never "impose peace" -- God forbid.

Dear me, no country's "defense" should ever "impose." How unseemly of an army ever to do such a thing, my goodness.

"Permitting unrest", on the other hand, is clearly a French specialty. Let's not forget what those doggone "youth" have been up to in France. Go get 'em Frogs!

81 newsjunkie, 94 Ward

1. devout preggers muslima travelling one way alone? sans father/husband? odd

2. I guess her lovely devout islamic parents will have to drive her home. Just like the rest of us have to do now that the muslims have made air travel a dangerous pain in the ass.

Nope, no sympathy at all.

3. Bottles of "cosmetics" that the screeners couldn't identify? My cosmetics are all in labelled bottles.

4. She felt "special" as a preggers muslima, so she should get to carry on 2 bottles of water even though all us infidels don't get to any more.

Michele Alliot-Marie and the Fwench are a real hoot:

France's hesitation has confused U.N. officials. On Wednesday, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie criticised the mandate of the force, which France wrote in drafting the August 11 resolution. She also objected to troops coming under U.N. control -- another provision Paris had insisted on to meet Lebanese demands.

Sooo...are they going to create a secondary UN force to go in and save the Fwench?

#116 REalwest

I am checking now, if it has happened, it must be very recently and MANY Friends how me an explanation fror not telling me what's happening.

Back in a few minutes.

Murqtaad

Not only did Dreamy triple, but he caught a fly ball with his left dimple, causing many a young hearts to flutter.

ROFL.

Juicy Giambi just whiffed...

Alliot-Marie said troop contributions to the expanded UNIFIL force should come from a great number of countries, both in Europe and the Muslim world.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

Alliot-Marie, Defense Minister is a very important job. I think do the job you were given, not whatever you were saying.

Clean and jerk, Hezbollah style;

A funeral worker raises up the body of a child for mourners to see, at a mass funeral in Qana, southern Lebanon Friday, Aug. 18, 2006

Now that's gratuitously freakish strength.

110 piglet. what a lovely jaunt for mookie al sadr and his bunch.

realwest

Hi!

Sorry I didn't get to respond to you on the DT.

Morning got nutty...gotta love those clients that violate their bail conditions on a Friday.
Have fun in jail this weekend, suckaah.

/heartless?

Here's something I have not seen questioned anywhere:

What is there to stop Hezbollah from simply *becoming* the Lebanese Army?

Uniforms are cheap.

why has everybody forgotten the fox reporters kidnappings?

#94 Ward Cleaver

Perhaps she has availed herself to more anonymous transportation. I understand Greyhound doesn't have those annoying sniffers.

GO GREYHOUND, AND LEAVE THE DRIVING...BOOM

I take back everything I ever said suggesting the French and Saudis lead a coalition to solve the Hebollah terrorist problem.

I gave the French the ultimatum to put-up or shut-up. They lost my confidence, but I really thought they could redeem themselves here.

I WAS WRONG! I doubt our administration saw LynnBo's posts here over the past 7 weeks, nor do I imagine they saw my idea and went with it.

But, if I have Israeli blood on my hands, I am truly, TRULY SORRY.

I will never give the French a window of opportunity to redeem themselves as long as I live. They are pathetic.

#119 Speller. The caption on the vid says Candaian. I just know they weren't Americans.

The french...

96 Elcid

Yes!

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Daoda, who delivers my groceries (nice guy) what he thought about French peacekeepers. I can't convey the look on his face here, but trust me that he emphatically did not approve of them - period.

Direct quote "I hate the French."

Oh - did I mention, he is an immigrant from Ivory Coast?

To be fair, I tend to agree with Ms. Alliot-Marie on this:

You can't send in men and tell them: 'Look at what is going on, (but) you don't have the right to defend yourself or to shoot.'

The only thing is, why the hell did France agree with the UN Security Council Resolution 1701? Shouldn't they have brought this up sooner?

#134

Good observation. Even Fox has it on the QT. I guess they have reason to believe that Centanni and the other guy are safer that way. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

134 akak. haven't. just no info

~133 newscaper...nothing really . they're already ,effectively the lebanese govt.

#116 Realwest

Nope, everything is OK.
The Legion is there and this summer has enlisting booths on the beaches.
I guess the big wave of Stasi and KGB agents finished.

It's practically the ONLY thing of France that works as it should...

And it probably has a future in the nightmare that Eurabia is living.

134 akak

why has everybody forgotten the fox reporters kidnappings?

There was a report on it on Brit Hume's show last night...I only saw the teaser, though.

#54 Happy Viking

France...once the most powerfull empire in the face of the earth..Napoloen's armies marched across europe and won countless battles has been reduced to..."Oh, we don't want to get hurt". Oh how the mighty have fallen.

First of all, Napoleon wasn't French. Second of all,

"After 1806, about 1/3 of the French army were foreign;
by 1812, more than 1/2. The Poles, believing that Napoleon
would re-establish a free Poland, were perhaps the best.
The Swiss were well-trained mercenaries. Italians usually
served well. Germans were variable; Saxon cavalry and
Wirtembergian infantry being thought the best.
Neapolitans were frequently wothless."
Esposito, Elting - "A Military History..."

#116 realwest
Why would fwance ever disband their most effective fighting force?
You know why its the best they have, because its soldiers are not fwenchmen.

This must become a rotating title: "Imposing peace on the Muslim world since 9/11"

Just watch, these terms get accepted and the Fench will want prostitutes supplied.

Look folks, maybe you're being a little hard on France.
Try to understand France's position.
It's a very difficut and expensive process getting French troops to a war zone.

First, you have to sedate them.
There's the whole process of packing them up against their will and transportation.
Then there's delivery to their destination, and positioning to consider.
Finally, they have to be snapped out of the effects of the drugs.

But when that's finally accomplished, I know France will do what comes naturally... run like a bat out of hell so Israel can do what needs to be done.

heard fox mention centanni this morning ..but just said they'd received no demands or statements from the kidnappers...which doesn't sound good to me

OT, but per Murqtaad and loppyd, as a Python-esque Frenchman might say to all the benighted Yankees fans out there, "I fart in your general direction!"...

#105 Killer Tomato -"Guess this isn't working out to be a fabulous PR move after all." Now that's an understatement equivlent to saying "Custer had some problems with the Lakota's and Cheyenne's at the Little Big Horn". LOL

The French never cease to amaze me. They'll apparently "double" their committment of forces to all of 400 troops to "lead" the international contingent of 15,000 troops. The thought of the French "leading" any troops, much less 15,000 is to laugh if this wasn't such a serious situation. Do I remember correctly that it was France who led the charge to get a ceasefire and sizeable body of "Peacekeepers" through the UN Security Council and then their response is to, initially, send only 200 effin' troops?

I believe France stopped being a lead player on the World stage at least by the end of WW II. I can't imagine any sane indiviudal or country (except the poor Republic of the Ivory Coast) taking them seriously ever again about anything having to do with international affairs.

OT: John Mark Karr

Here's my theory.

He's gay (and then some). He has AIDS. He has no health coverage. He can't get any health coverage (He has AIDS). Without treatment he will die soon (relatively), and painfully. He can get treatment in prison. He is a pedophile. Pedophiles get off on trading their stories of conquest with other pedos. This must be the fricking prize-winning coup of pedo stories.

So it's all green lights for him. Win-Win.

George should get the zionist conspiracist foxnews guys back!

Well said akak. Organisations like the BBC just haven't found it newsworthy or half as much fun as spewing all over the truth.

Before committing troops to the Lebanon ceasefire they championed at the United Nations, France wants safety guarantees.

I’m not making this up.

The sad part was I knew you weren't even before you added the disclaimer. It's so typical of France. Maybe they need the extra time awaiting their guarantees because they're too busy teaching their troops how to surrender in the various regional languages.

/wish I was kidding

Does the French Army have a labor union? Perhaps there is worry that they'll strike or riot like young people did earier this year when their entitlements were threatened.

151 realwest

The French started the Vietnam War.

ShumBaayaMyLord

Hopefully my Red Sox will prevail today, tonight, tomorrow and Sunday. :D

That's not asking for too much is it?

Very little reporting has been done on Steve Centani and his photographer, (Oleg?)

Who is trying to secure their release?

Political cowards, one and all.

all I can say is that hopefully there is a startegic reason on our part for the lack of coverage

Any minutes now, the UN is going to start nagging the US to send in troops to guarantee the French soldiers' safety in Lebanon.

You just watch!

edit strategic

or somethin

#152 haakondahl

But can he be placed in Colorado in 1996?

I dunno what it was, but I was expecting someone named Michele that was also French, to be a he, not a she...my bad :D

116 realwest

Oh, no. La Légion Étrangère is still very much in evidence. For example, they have men in Afghanistan. I was going to post a mention of them earlier, but I got caught up in their Web site.

Official Web site: [Link: www.legion-etrangere.com...]

Being who they are, they have translations into many different languages - unique for a French site.

Another Web site:

[Link: www.legion-etrangere.info...] - includes photos, which is how I got caught up.

And -
I think this picture is iconic.

The thing is - these guys will shoot back. Part of the problem in Ivory Coast is there is a civil war going on, and when you're in the middle, and armed, and people are shooting in both directions - what do you do? Wait for a mandate, or shoot back? I'd personally either shoot back or get the heck out of there.

Laugh all you want at the all too predictable French spinelessness but what did you expect them to do, honor a committment? Puh-lease.

The real jokes here, again, are the Israelis...they keep falling for the same old UN-as-Lucy Van Pelt-pulling the football away at the last second routine. Boy, they never seem to tire of falling flat on their backs with an "augh!" do they?

The joke was old in 1973.

152 haakondahl

Arrrghhh!

/covers ears

Very little reporting has been done on Steve Centani and his photographer, (Oleg?)

Who is trying to secure their release?

To my knowledge, no one has claimed credit, or made any demands.

That doesn't bode well, in my view.

First of all, Napoleon wasn't French. Second of all,

"After 1806, about 1/3 of the French army were foreign;
by 1812, more than 1/2.

Okay, I hate to stick up for the French, but wasn't the Grande Armee one of the largest armies ever assembled up until that point in time? There's no way it could have been 100% French, especially considering that France had been either in a revolution/civil war/interational war for 15 years in 1806.

The French position - two options:

1. We should say bravo to the French for standing up for robust "ROE" (to give effect to SC 1701) that would give the UNIFIL + (or new name) the battlefield capability and authority to disarm with force as necessary; or,

2. We should continue to despise the French for being the most perfidious ally in the history of civilization.

In this option the game plan was first a French promise of leadership plus boots on the ground to get the "so what and what next" part of the cessation of firing agreement in motion. Lebanon signs on too but clearly it was a lie from the beginning.

In step two the Lebanese government effectively disavows SC 1701 and Hezbollah WRT the disarming and de-militarization of the South Litani area.

Step three, the French, instead of bringing the Lebanese government to ground for its public declaration not to honour its signature on SC 1701, hides behind the UN's ROE process knowing that the "UNIFIL + or whatever", force will never be authorized to both offensively and defensively bring live and deadly fire into the situation on the battlefield.

Reminds me of the pre-Iraq War UN discussion and veto by the French.

Imagine the different outcome in Iraq had the French acceded to the resolution to permit a UN sanctioned action?

Once again the French have a chance to unleash the terrorists (et al) or declare this to be a 'red line' - even for them.

Wonder what is in the French After-Action Report on their UN veto?

Knowing the French regional ambitions as well as its repeated attempts to undercut American power internationally, no matter what the cost, no wonder the “clear” position of Chirac and the French Government is so opaque.

France forgot to read the lessons learned chapter.

cn

169 Citizen Duck

As of last night, Fox reported they had no word on them. No one has claimed to have taken them or made any demands. Allegedly, the Pali honchos et al are looking for them/asking around/whatever it is they do.

I've not heard anything today - but then, I'm currently not listening to the news, which is being JonBenet'd.

Of course they want to sit it out after demanding the "cease fire". What they are trying to do is force the UN to use troops from places like Malaysia, Indonesia and such. Which, of course, are Islamst countries guaranteed to do everything in their power to assist the Hezzies.

#79 mama winger
Exactamonte!

80 maddogg

Now, now, now. They make good coffee and cigarettes (though I switched from Gitanes to Camels in a patriotic move several years ago - plus Camels are cheaper).

Personally, I prefer English, Italian, and Danish cheese.

#157 LynnBo - Oh yes, I'm certainly aware that the Fwence started the Vietnam War; initially put back into what had been one of their colonies (for the rubber plantations)after the Japanese were kicked out after losing WWII. Then of course, masters of stategy and tactics that the Fwence are, they situated many brave men at a little place called Dien Bien Phu, where the Viet Cong (then called Viet Minh) owned all the high ground surrounding the French postions and used artillary to blow many of those fine, brave French soldier's to hell.
When I served in Vietnam, I remember the Media trying to put Khe Sahn on the same level as Dien Bien Phu; they were totally wrong, of course, but then again they were "news people" who also thought that the Tet Offensive was a big win for the VC and the NVA.
I don't think the average French soldier is any less brave than professional soldiers in anyone else's army; they are, however the most ineptly led
soldiers in the World.

#158 loppyd -Why yes, yes it is asking too much and it ain't gonna happen!

Would everyone please stop calling the French "frogs"? I happen to like frogs.

#166 Cattt (and other kind folk) I'm glad to know the Legion is still there; at least there are some troops we can count on to defend France's Atomic or Nuclear Arsenal from takeover by the Muslims!

realwest

From the looks of this game so far, you're right.

I'm starting my weekend right now. Hope yours is great! Don't overdo with the unpacking, ya hear?

{realwest}

Would all this qualify as a French Quagmire?

Never trust a word that starts with a "Q"

Thomas Sowell is spot on, as usual:

How many cease-fires have there been in the Middle East -- or is the number too large to remember? Over the past half century, there must have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than in the rest of the world combined.

What will this latest cease-fire do? It will give Hezbollah a breather from Israeli retaliation and allow them time to get new shipments of military equipment from Iran, rebuild their military infrastructure and prepare for the next round of attacks on Israel.

Why do these phony cease-fire scenarios keep getting repeated? Because there are too many people, including many in the media, who take the corrupt windbags at the U.N. seriously -- so our political leaders have to act as if they take the U.N. seriously as well.

Entire article Here.

#170 j-damn

So what's your point? You had massive numbers of non-French soldiers fighting for a guy who wasn't French to create an multi-national Empire based on universalist principles.

Napoleon used France- France didn't use him.

His mission was not to spread French culture around the world.

#135 mkm19602000 8/18/2006 11:14AM PDT

"GO GREYHOUND, AND LEAVE THE DRIVING...BOOM"
***

Not sure if anyone realizes that Greyhound and the like are the last anonymous forms of transportation in America. No ID required to pay cash, no ID required to get on the bus.

When I last traveled Greyhound from Houston to Atlanta, last year, the bus was filled with illegal aliens and criminal types. Very little English spoken and approximately 3 Caucasian-types out of 60-ish passengers.

The fellow next to me was from Guatemala. Didn't speak English. After a stop near McD's, gave him some fries and he gave them to his two 7-ish daughters and they wolfed like famished. Not once during 11+ hours did this man give his daughters food or drink, that I saw. He said in Spanish he was headed for New york.

Black man in the back of the bus talking so loudly on the cell phone in graphic detail what he had done to his girlfriend that weekend that the whole back of the bus heard.

Walked up to him in the dark and told him there were woman and children on this bus and that he could keep it to himself. People looked at me like I was crazy. He apologized and said he must have been kind of loud.

Walked back forward to my seat and realized that almost no one spoke English and no almost no one was being offended.

Then the skinhead disheveled dude to my left engages me in conversation and keeps tensely asking when we're going to cross the Louisiana border, and spills that he used to be a Texas cop and after what he just did to his girlfriend he can't ever go back to Texas.

Mothers and fathers, NEVER put your child on a Greyhound for a long night trip, these days.

I wasn't worried for myself, but if I had kids, it would have been a nightmare.

Not to mentioned the crazed Russian bus driver sped like a madman through Houston and damn near overturned the bus through the construction zone (people were screaming).

#128 loppyd

Looks like Seau wants to sign with your Pats.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,”

Then why in the hell didn't they just shut up and let Israel turn Lebanon into a Sam's Club parking lot?

TO: Charles Johnson
RE: Oh...Puhlease...

...don't get me started about what passes for French 'Special Fecees'.

We dug one of their teams up while digging in for a defensive operation during REFORGER 81.

We were told to put them back in their hole, cover them over and ignore them.

How 'appropos'...

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Deeds, Not Words! -- Credo of 22d Infantry Regiment]

I knew there was a reason I didn't like Tim McGraw...

Former President Bill Clinton has invited Tim McGraw to a Sept. 9 event celebrating his 60th birthday. Tim will join James Taylor, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Crystal and others in Toronto at a birthday celebration that will also serve as a fundraiser for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

Tim will perform a few songs and then enjoy what will be the best hang of the year. Tim, a Democrat who has expressed political aspirations down the road, is a friend of Clinton's. No word yet on whether Tim will be taking his wife, Faith Hill.

This event, which will be held during the Toronto Film Festival, is part of a two-month celebration of Clinton's birthday, which is Aug. 19. Dubbed 42 at 60, it will culminate in New York with a private concert by the Rolling Stones on Oct. 29.

[Link: www.tennessean.com...]

#182 wee fury

Sowell nailed it but continued hammering for effect.

/Not surprised decades of "peace studies" created a group of idiots lurching into war.

that def. minister worded it poorly, but all she meant was that it shouldn't be seen as an entirely Western operation.

which is true, if we're talking about Arabs' perception -- considering plenty of them have an ingrained hostility toward any "colonial" presence.

of course, there's the fact that certain Arab peacekeepers sent over there might just be a tad chummy with Hezbollah. which she didn't address.

This U.S. Army went to Iraq,

The British Army went too,

The Canadians went to Afghanistan,

And the French Army went oui, oui, oui, oui, oui all the way Home.

Are there any real men left in Europe? This is why European females fall all over themselves when they meet an American tourist. They want someone who will stand up straight, stand confident, lift their head high and be a man. This is absolutely disgraceful.

I thought the French army WAS the safety guarantee (yes, i know it is absurd and i don't believe it for a second) but that is what they were promising.

And now this michele fellow,

peace is imposed? Peace is not an imposition, force and violence is an imposition! This is multiculturalism at its most absurd!

Imagine a people where peace is an imposition!

Mais monsieurs - vous m'aviez dit que c'est la religion de paix. Quelle est le probleme?

/channeling a cheese eating surender dhimmi monkey

French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie

"Ethnology"
A new discipline for every old prejudice...

Run away!

Appeasement never solved anything.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,

How do you respond to this? It's just stupid. I don't know what to say. Why not mention the Hizbos kidanpping Isreali troops?

Change 1

This U.S. Army went to Iraq,

The British Army went too,

The Canadians went to Afghanistan,

And the French Army went oui, oui, oui, oui, oui and never left home.

There, that's better.

This is why there is always so much confusion over the drug tests at the Tour de France. The French are trying to deal with something they don't encounter very often: testosterone.

$10 and a beer says the french insist everyone in the region trade in their arms for Super Soakers so they can feel safe. france will bring the Nerf guns and assorted pool toys for that extra-sensitive hitting power. If this became reality, it couldn't cause anyone with a grip on reality to take them less seriously than they already do at the moment.

my eye just started twitching like chief inspector dreyfus from the pink panther.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image reality of a the Western Muslim world imposing peace Islam on the Muslim free world,” she said.

There, fixed.

i always assumed that this sort of expectation was just a pose they strike against u.s. forces.

these are truly their expectations.

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

“Germany, uneasy because of its Nazi past about any possible military confrontation with Israeli soldiers, said it wouldn't send any ground troops but was willing to provide naval units to patrol the coast.”

===

Why would the UN be expecting a military confrontation with Israeli troops?

I can sort of understand the French concerns about facing HizbAllah on its own turf, being as they are, after all, French.

What does the German government/military command know about the UNs plans in southern Lebanon, which the rest of us do not?

UN out of occupied NYC, now!

CODENAME
ALMIGHTY,
R

#202 Render

Why would the UN be expecting a military confrontation with Israeli troops?

They've ruled out shooting at Hizballah.

Maybe this soothed french fears just enough for them to keep from surrendering just yet, courtesy of the US:

The first was the promise of an air surveillance wing for UNIFIL to keep a watch over South Lebanon and the border crossings into Syria. UNIFIL was also promised intelligence data gathered by US satellites on military movements in Lebanon.

...This promise led French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie to announce Wednesday night that France is willing to lead a new UN presence in Lebanon at least until February,...

[Link: debka.com...]

They reduce their troop commitment by an order of magnitude and then they want protection too? Everything sarcastic I might say has been said already, I'm sure.

Then the skinhead disheveled dude to my left engages me in conversation and keeps tensely asking when we're going to cross the Louisiana border, and spills that he used to be a Texas cop and after what he just did to his girlfriend he can't ever go back to Texas.

Been 20 years since I took the bus, but last memorable time I was sitting next to a sweet little hippy girl about 20 years old ( she kissing me to show me what flavor her lip balm was.) Several seats over was a skinhead with Sword cross and covenant tattoo.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

Fine, then leave Israel alone to continue wiping these scumbags out.

This is what you get when you select the Nanny of the Year from Le Petite Jean-Francois Kindergarten* and Daycare to head up your Defence Ministry. Cookies and blankies and Raffi tunes for all you petite Fwench soldiers! Don't go out in the rain, you might ruin your natty li'l kepis. Make sure you hold hands when you go out on patrol and bring an extra juicebox for your playmate, err, patrol mate. If you have to raise your voice or wave your gun at someone, make sure you apologize afterwards. If you have to shoot, make sure that you let the other side have it's turn...

Wussies...

(I am so gonna catch it, but there are some jobs that I think that women should not be allowed to do. First that b*tch of a judge that thinks that she's G*d when it comes to the wiretapping and now this glorified babysitter in charge of Fwench security. They value security and "doing the right thing for everybody" instead of freedom, boldness and "doing the right thing for YOUR country and IT'S citizens". OK, lizard-ladies, I know most of you do not fit into this catagory, but I'll take my lumps, if you want to dish 'em out...)

*check out them initials, JFK, yeah, the JKF that served in Vietnam, so I've heard...

The objective was to get Israel to accept a ceasefire, knowing full well that if Israel did so, it would be politically difficult for it to re-start the war on Hezb'Allah. Promises were thus made to Israel, which the UN, France etc had no intent in keeping.

The only good that has come of this war, is the hope Israelis will examine their mindset.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

What is it with the French? Do they LIKE being conquered again and again? Talk about a dhimmified attitude!

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.

I'm for imposing peace.

frikkin nutzos

I, for one, certainly regret that we didn't have a coalition of these brave soldier-types ready to go into Iraq with us. As I recall, that is what John Kerry wanted.

har har har

#95 antisocial_ist:

Notice Bush let the Iranians defy and set their own date, Aug. 22. Notice Bush didn't make a big stink about it. I didn't see ths as weakness. I saw it as poker.

Yeah, right.
How did Bush manage to keep his brilliant plan from being splashed all over the front pages of the New York Times? Where were the leakers, the State Department liberals, the CIA Bush-haters, and all the others who have leaked every other secret Bush Administration counter-terrorism program till now?

I checked the biography of this Michele Alliot-Marie, the French Defense Minister:

She seems to have absolutely zero military experience. In fact, she seems to have zero foreign affairs experience too. Before being Defense Minister, she was Education Minister.

The only good that has come of this war, is the hope Israelis will examine their mindset.

Hopefully they won't be examining it while rowing rescue boats out to waiting US warships as they watch the glow of a nuked Tel Aviv in their rear view mirror.

From the Jerusalem Post, 19 Aug:

Malloch Brown said all potential troop contributors were being sent copies of the concept of operations and rules of engagement so governments could study them over the weekend and decide whether to contribute to the force.

"The core thing that capitals have to get over the hump on ... is that it is not an offensive force, it's not going to go in there and attempt large-scale disarmament" of Hizbullah guerillas, he said.

Lovely, now the UN top officials disavow their own "ink still wet" resolutions.

Could Condi have been right when she suggested that the disarming of Hezbollah was to happen on the basis of volunteerism?

Oh what a lovely war...

cn

#183 funkyfantom 8/18/2006 12:10PM PDT

#170 j-damn

So what's your point? You had massive numbers of non-French soldiers fighting for a guy who wasn't French to create an multi-national Empire based on universalist principles.

Did you even read the comments which brought about my comment?

If you did, you'd know my "point", cupcake.

A Moment to be Seized in Lebanon,
by Charles Krauthammer
[Link: jewishworldreview.com...]

re #218

What is most at stake, from the American perspective, is Lebanon. Lebanon was the most encouraging achievement of the democratization project launched with great risk with the invasion of Iraq. The Beirut Spring, the liberation from Syrian rule and the election of a pro-Western government marked the high point (together with the first Iraqi election, which inspired the events in Lebanon) of the Bush doctrine.

Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have been working assiduously to reverse that great advance. Hezbollah insinuated itself into the government. The investigation of Syria for the murder of Rafiq Hariri has stalled. And now, with the psychological success of the war with Israel, Hezbollah may soon become the dominant force in all of Lebanon. In the south, the Lebanese army will be taking orders from Hezbollah. Hezbollah is not just returning to being a "state within a state." It is becoming the state, with the Siniora government reduced to acting as its front.

That is why ensuring that Hezbollah is cut down to size by a robust international force with very strict enforcement of its disarmament is so critical. For all its boasts, Hezbollah has suffered grievously militarily, with enormous losses of fighters, materiel and infrastructure. Now is its moment of maximum weakness. That moment will not last long. Resupply and rebuilding have already begun.

This is no time for the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to be saying, when asked about the creation of an international force, that "this really is a responsibility of the Secretariat." Maybe officially, but if we are not working frantically behind the scenes to make sure that this preposterously inappropriate body gets real troops in quickly, armed with the right equipment and the right mandate, the moment will be lost. And with it Lebanon.

Hey Frenchies,

I personally guarantee your troops safety.

Now go to it, you craven sacks of @#$$.

Seriously, the French soldiers, however good their training or questionable their motivation, have zero real world combat experience. I would classify their involvement here as "less than worthless".

A friend of a friend of mine served in the first Gulf war and had opportunity to spend time with some French soldiers. Apparently, they were the envy of all the other soldiers because while the Americans were eating MREs every day the French spent every morning cooking breakfast on their standard issue French crepe ovens (I kid you not).

So there you go, the French are the best fed military power on earth!

Cheese eating surrender monkeys

#219

in all fairness, Hezbollah won 1/6 of the seats in that election. if Nasrallah could take majority power by democratic means, i doubt he'd much care about subverting democracy. that's why i hope another election is far, far off -- considering the boosted popularity of Hezbollah.

Syria's got its own designs in the region. honestly though, even though Syrian troops are out, there're plenty of non-Hezbollah political figures that're Syrian-influenced or pro-Syrian in some way. Syria could very well continue to exert influence in a functioning, stable Lebanese democracy.