Thank you to France

Thanks to our French brothers in arms for helping the U.S. in Afghanistan. This is one American who appreciates your efforts and sacrifices being made to help us out.

A lot of Americans, me being one of them, have not properly acknowledged France's contributions to the war in Afghanistan. I hope that France and America work to improve relations. France's military is top notch, amoung the world's best, and deserves thanks.

France has come a long way in the last few decades, from being the butt of jokes to now being one of the United States strongest allies.

I no longer leave out my french heritage when people ask... thats a start right...

Thanks France.

They're military is top notch, and they are helping in a war, so they deserve thanks.

Interesting.

So we can only recognize France, their culture, and their people, and respect them, unless they have a strong military and are involved in assisting the United States in a war which was sparked by a false flag operation in order to construct a natural gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea into Afghanistan and take over the opium supplies to allow the CIA to continue to fund Al Qaeda.

Here's an idea - how about we respect their opinions when it's against our war machine agenda? Why don't we respect their culture rather than trashing it and calling them weak because they don't sling guns around simply because others don't agree with them? Why don't we treat them like human beings?

In this country, we've become accustom with the liberties of free speech and other such liberties. We value these liberties. We, for the most part, realize that people have this liberty, and it should not be taken away.

Yet we can't respect others' in the world when they speak out against us.

Hypocritical much?

If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for humanity. Not just inside some imaginary lines on a map that separate us from Mexico and Canada.

It's a sad world when we judge and congratulate other nations for siding with our military power and for being a good military nation, as if nations who don't try to claim they're the greatest in the world are unworthy, and nations who don't help in our wars of greed are weak and aiding the terrorists.

Having been probably the biggest anti America country in the world, I'm really pleasantly surprised France is starting to do a 180.
I wonder why?

Could it be that they are finally realizing that Leftist ideas amount to nothing?
..that Socialist ideas are even worse?

Are they finally waking up to the fact that the radical Muzzies of the world do not want to sing Kumbaya with anyone?

The French, like the American Left, have always catered to Muzzy extremists with their "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" mentality, now they realize they need to act very quickly because their culture is radically changing.

The Leftists of this country should take note that the French are tired of being useful idiots.

Don't be surprised if Bush turns out to be a hero ten years from now.
Time will tell.
Even Winston Churchill was not very popular during his time, look at him now.

Originally posted by Alxandro
Don't be surprised if Bush turns out to be a hero ten years from now.

Sorry ATS Mods for the useless post. I really can't think of anything other than that.

Originally posted by Alxandro
Could it be that they are finally realizing that Leftist ideas amount to nothing?
..that Socialist ideas are even worse?

Funnily enough I havent heard complaints about british "Leftist" or "socialist" ideas....Must be why britain is in such a sorry state huh...

Originally posted by Vanguard223
Thanks to our French brothers in arms for helping the U.S. in Afghanistan. This is one American who appreciates your efforts and sacrifices being made to help us out.

A lot of Americans, me being one of them, have not properly acknowledged France's contributions to the war in Afghanistan. I hope that France and America work to improve relations. France's military is top notch, amoung the world's best, and deserves thanks.

I have to agree with you Vanguard, about people forgetting how much help the French have given to America over the years. At times I see it as a bit offencive when I hear the French getting insulted and slandered. It seems many people are unaware of the real amount of help they gave to early Americans in there fight for freedom from oppression and tyranny.

From the outbreak of armed rebellion in 1775, many in France sympathized with the colonists. Young, idealistic French officers like the Marquis de Lafayette volunteered their services and in many cases their personal wealth to help equip, train and lead the fledgling Continental army. The French government hoped to redress the balance of power that resulted from the French humiliation in the Seven Years Wars, which gave considerable economic and military advantages to Britain. While maintaining formal neutrality, France assisted in supplying arms, uniforms and other military supplies to the American colonists.
Snip~~
From the perspective of the American Revolution, however, the high point of French support is the landing of five battalions of French infantry and artillery in Rhode Island in 1780. In 1781, these French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau marched south to Virginia where they joined Continental forces under Washington and Lafayette. Cornwallis, encamped on the Yorktown peninsula, hoped to be rescued by the British navy. A French fleet under the command of Admiral DeGrasse intercepted and, after a fierce battle lasting several days, defeated the British fleet and forced it to withdraw. This left the French navy to land heavy siege cannon and other supplies and trapped Cornwallis on the Yorktown peninsula.
At that point, the defeat of Cornwallis was essentially a matter of time. On September 14, 1781, the French and Continental armies completed their 700 mile march and soon thereafter laid siege to the British positions. After a number of weeks and several brief but intense engagements, Cornwallis, besieged on the peninsula by the large and well-equipped French-American army, and stricken by dysentery, determined to surrender his army. On October 19, 1781, the British forces marched out between the silent ranks of the Americans and French, arrayed in parallel lines a mile long, and cast down their arms.
people.csail.mit.edu...

I just have to shake my head sometimes.

The European contribution to Afghanistan is next to nothing ... some of them send little more then the equivalent of a reinforced infantry company and say "look we are fighting terrorism!" as if 150 guys will make a difference, ummm no try sending like 10,500 and maybe then it will matter. And they refuse to serve in the more dangerous spots and thus the British, Americans, the Afghan government and Canadians have to do the lions share of the fighting.

reply to post by NovusOrdoMundi


Well said. Respect a country for what it is, not just because it sends troops to your war.

I wonder how many people who have now changed to 'respect' France, have actually even been there?

Originally posted by NovusOrdoMundi
They're military is top notch, and they are helping It's a sad world when we judge and congratulate other nations for siding with our military power and for being a good military nation, as if nations who don't try to claim they're the greatest in the world are unworthy, and nations who don't help in our wars of greed are weak and aiding the terrorists.

[SNIP] I wasn't congratulating anyone for siding with us. I was THANKING them FOR siding with us. There's a difference. I wasn't discussing culture, politics, the weather or anything else. [SNIP]

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Trimmed quote and deleted personal attack

[edit on 11/1/08 by masqua]

Originally posted by Alxandro
Having been probably the biggest anti America country in the world, I'm really pleasantly surprised France is starting to do a 180.
I wonder why?

France is not anti american and i can see no fundamental change in french foreign policy. France readily assists the United States where there is good ground to do so. So It was natural and necessary for France to assist the post-9/11 anti-terror operations as a friend of the United States and as the US ally having the most experience in fighting islamic terrorism. They conduct many special and covert operations mainly but not only in Afghanistan and built Alliance Base close to Paris, a common Franco-American intelligence agency focused on antiterrorism and comprising several thousand spies from the CIA and the DGSE.

Frances opposition to the Iraq war is however completely unrelated and based on a clear disctinction between necessary and precise operational assistance to the USA in the War on Terror and a terror-unrelated, ill-conceived colonial yahoo enterprise in Iraq calculating over a million victims and with public support mainly based on official disinformation of the masses. Also, the american press happily bought into the WMD Propaganda, while the european press didnt, which made it next to impossible for their countries to go to war based on lies (see Blair's and Aznar's sorry fare)



[edit on 19-1-2008 by ergoli]