Sunday, January 29, 2012

They Bravely Run Away

The French seem eager to be the first out the door in Afghanistan:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to fast-track its withdrawal — just days after an Afghan soldier gunned down four French troops — is the latest crack in a coalition already strained by economic troubles in Europe and the United States, the Afghan government's sluggish battle against corruption, on-again off-again cooperation from neighboring Pakistan and a dogged Taliban bloodied but not beaten.

The French suffer from simplistic thinking about Afghanistan. Their lack of nuance is troubling.

Oh, and thank you to France for rejoining the NATO military arm after the Soviet threat to conquer Western Europe collapsed and in time to undermine NATO's will to fight in Afghanistan.

But perhaps I'm being unfair to France. Perhaps they need to gather resources to secure Libya in the face of mounting post-Khaddafi tensions.

Yeah. Perhaps.

And perhaps I have a date with Summer Glau this coming Friday.