Everyone bashes the French, me as much as anyone. But the whole cheese-eating surrender monkey thing is misguided. They have a healthy respect for military force, and one of the few credible military budgets in Continental Europe.
The French aren't pacifist weenies. They're militaristic weenies. They bombed Greenpeace when it served their puposes. They test nukes on South Pacific atolls. They send in troops to their former colonies without a second thought. The French motivation isn't a principial aversion to violence, it's a desire to tie down the American "hyperpower."
The French are craven and amoral, but they're the political equivalent of fire ants. The German economy and population are larger than France's, yet France dominates the EU bureaucracy. They have the most disciplined political class in Europe.
Here's hoping President Bush shows the same resolve in fighting this threat that he has shown against Saddam.
Posted by Discoshaman at mars 27, 2003 05:36 AM