Thursday 2 September 2010

The French military: they're there when they need you

















That an I'm feeling lucky Google search for 'french military victories' comes up with no matches and asks: Did you mean 'french military defeats', may be just an American joke. But when you think about it, it's hard to come up with a war in which La France has been notably victorious - no, hang on, there was their victory over Greenpeace in 1985 when their navy sneakily sank Rainbow Warrior when she was tied up in Auckland harbour.

That Britain's Armed Forces should be merged with any foreign military is bad enough, but that there should currently be talk of a merger with a country with such a dismal military track record is as alarming as it is ludicrous. Yes, there should be strong military alliances with foreign powers, there always have been. But Britain must never have to seek permission from such a bunch of losers and 'surrender monkeys' in order that she can carry out her foreign policy - because we know what their answer would be: "Non".

Some other comments on French military prowess:

The question for any country silly enough to count on the French should not be "Can we count on the French?" but rather "How long until France collapses?"

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. All you do is leave behind a lot of noisy baggage."

Or, better still, the quote from the Wall Street Journal: "They're there when they need you."