Gallic Disdain For NATO Continues

[NW-Bound]

Who's gettin' hurt?

Golly, these Texans we are tryin' to rescue shootin' us?

 

[Westernskies]

Who's getting hurt?

Gosh, these Texans we are trying to rescue shooting us?

Fire ants, scorpions, snakes? Mexican Pirates? Ebola? The UN would have to send in an advance team in a fleet of white vans to study the risks for a couple of years before actually doing anything, while they hold hearings in NYC, featuring empty rhetoric from our good friends AquaVelvaJahd and HugeEgo Chavez...

 

[NW-Bound]

Who invited NATO for this Texan invasion?

I say we send troops in NOW, to evacuate these poor Texans ASAP. Of course some stubborn ones will need to be disarmed, or more forcefully persuaded to leave. Haven't we all read plaintive messages calling for rescue from some forum members, and from an ex-Moderator of their plight?

I will be in right behind you with my tanker truck, if you will show me where they stash their gasoline.

 

[Major Tom]

Did everyone else miss this part
I always thought Norway was in Europe. Live and learn!

Norway is in Europe, but it's not part of the European Union.

 

[samclem]

From another site. I expurgated the politcally inflammatory ones:

Apparently the White House tossed out a number of perfectly good names before arriving at "Operation Odyssey Dawn":

10.
9. Operation Organizing for Libya
8. Operation Double Standard
7. Operation FINE! I'll Do Something
6.
5. Operation So That's What the Red Button Does
4. Operation France Backed Me Into A Corner
3. Operation Start Without Me
2. Operation Unlike Previous Wars This One Is Justified Because Hey Look A Squirrel
1. Operation Aimless Fury

 

[Htown Harry]

Surely, there are victims to be rescued from fire ants, scorpions, rattle snakes, Ebola virus, Mexican pirates, etc... Need to mount an invasion ASAP.

Please hurry. There is danger affecting every area of our lives down here...especially now, with the Texas legislature in session.

 

[Westernskies]

Is it just a coincidence that the UK and US pushed for action in Libya just as some are trying to reduce military spending?

Nothing is a coincidence; everything is part of a conspiracy...

 

[obgyn65]

Your post is offensive. Can you imagine someone on this website writing a post saying "Gotta love" those "Wops", “Chinks”, “Japs”, “Kikes” ? Of course not. Using slurs against ethnic or cultural minorities is offensive. But calling the French “Frenchies” seems to be just fine.

Gotta love those Frenchies
Ha

 

[Gumby]

I have never understood the modern antipathy toward the French. They were, after all, our country's first ally. Were it not for the victory of the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Virginia Capes, Cornwallis would have been resupplied and reinforced in sufficient numbers to break the siege at Yorktown and continue the war.

 

[MichaelB]

I have never understood the modern antipathy toward the French. They were, after all, our country's first ally. Were it not for the victory of the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Virginia Capes, Cornwallis would have been resupplied and reinforced in sufficient numbers to break the siege at Yorktown and continue the war.

Gumby, the North and the South usually make do just dumping on each other, but sometimes need a "go to country" they can both share in patriotic belittlement and disrespect. The one unique characteristic of France compared with other major European countries - the fewest immigrants to the US. Any other country and one would be insulting a large portion of US ethnic heritage.

 

[HFWR]

I heard the latest is that the French surrendered.

Its a wonder we have not found a humanitarian reason to invade Texas lately.

It's worth remembering that Texans are heavily armed...

 

[Leonidas]

It's worth remembering that Texans, are heavily armed...

Shhhhhh! We were hoping that it would be a surprise.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have never understood the modern antipathy toward the French. They were, after all, our country's first ally. Were it not for the victory of the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Virginia Capes, Cornwallis would have been resupplied and reinforced in sufficient numbers to break the siege at Yorktown and continue the war.

First... that was a few hundred years ago....

Second, it was not that they liked US.... they hated the English...

Third... it is not just us... the English hate the French... Germany hates the French.... (heck, I bet the French hate the French).... and to be truthful, I don't think we hate the French... it is that they seem to always want to do something else that nobody else wants to do...

 

[haha]

I have never understood the modern antipathy toward the French. They were, after all, our country's first ally. Were it not for the victory of the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Virginia Capes, Cornwallis would have been resupplied and reinforced in sufficient numbers to break the siege at Yorktown and continue the war.

Actually, I admire their realpolitik.

When I said "gotta love those Fr.......", it in fact reflects my feeling toward them. They pay attention to the well being of France and the French people, not every Tom Dick and Harry on earth.

Ha

 

[BigNick]

Easy though it is to bash the French (I do it regularly), I don't think it's justified here:

- Keeping NATO out, formally, makes sense. Germany and Turkey, among other NATO member states, are not fully on board with this operation, which is in support of a UN resolution. NATO members have a treaty obligation to defend each other if they are attacked, which is manifestly not the case here.

- France has taken a leading role on the Libya question since the start. I suppose that this might well be with some gentle hints from the US, as it allowed the Obama administration to stay on the fence for some time - which, given their need to stay close to Israel and not be seen to repeat the mistakes of Iraq, is probably the right thing to have done.

- I'm very tired of every foreign policy intervention in the world being described as being "about oil", as if there is any precedent for it. Firstly, if it was about oil, the West should logically be propping up Gaddafi. Secondly, Libya's oil production dropped to almost zero several weeks ago, and all that happened was that the Saudis opened the taps a little.

Libya has to sell its oil to someone, and there is no OPEC domination today like there was in the 1970s. Even if fundamentalists take over every country in the Middle East, they will sell their oil to someone, and every barrel that China or Japan buys from them is a barrel less that they aren't buying from other countries who will supply it to us.

I remember, on the day the 2003 Iraq war started, receiving two Powerpoint files on the same day. One was a paranoid rant about how George Bush was invading Iraq to take control of its oil, force down the world price, and thus get re-elected on the back of cheap gas. The other was a paranoid rant about how George Bush was invading Iraq to take control of its oil, force up the world price, and thus make lots of money for himself and his Texas oil friends. I'm fairly confident that at least one of those was wrong. (I preferred the explanation that George Bush was an idiot. )

 

[haha]

.

... and there is no OPEC domination today like there was in the 1970s.

This is at odds with the evidence. OPEC controls essentially all of the excess capacity in the world today. Russia has excess gas capacity, but their oil production is more or less flat, Alaska and the North Sea are on the downside of their depletion curves, and Central Asia has not become the powerhouse that was expected.

How do you see OPEC being a smaller market presence than earlier?

As to the logic behind our foreign policy, our president is getting mostly on-the-job training in this part of his duties, and perhaps this is an area that requires a bit more study and experience with gradually increasing responsibilies being assumed?

Ha

 

[MichaelB]

Big Nick: no problem. We understand that you are being positive because you are in France and probably have some French authorities looking over your shoulder or monitoring your email.

Texas Proud: Right. All the other Europeans dislike the French. That’s because lots of all other Europeans have emigrated at some point in time over the past couple of hundred years. Not the French though. They have stayed home more than any other major European populace. To make it worse, all the other emigrants at least had the good sense to make the US the primary destination country. But again, not the French. They went to Canada., and the Caribbean, and North Africa. They started it.

Ha: Agree. Can’t wait for the transition from “On the job training” to “ Now we know what we are doing”.

One comment regarding policy: since the Lockerbie bomber release eff-up, there is no way the UK or US can support Gadaffi and have every motive to get rid of him.

 

[BigNick]

How do you see OPEC being a smaller market presence than earlier?

In the mid-70s, when OPEC made any announcement about the price of oil which it would like to see, the world trembled. They worked effectively as a bloc and took advantage of Cold War tensions to maximise their collective income. They were, for the most part, states in the "non-aligned" movement.

Now, there is almost no geopolitical coherency between OPEC's members. Venezuela, Iran, and Libya are run by their own special looney tunes, while Iraq/Kuwait/Qatar/Saudi/UAE are more or less client states of the West. And demand is such that OPEC can't afford to push the price up; every (structural) $1 on a barrel is a step nearer pushing us to develop some other source of energy supply.

 

[haha]

In the mid-70s, when OPEC made any announcement about the price of oil which it would like to see, the world trembled. They worked effectively as a bloc and took advantage of Cold War tensions to maximise their collective income. They were, for the most part, states in the "non-aligned" movement.

Now, there is almost no geopolitical coherency between OPEC's members. Venezuela, Iran, and Libya are run by their own special looney tunes, while Iraq/Kuwait/Qatar/Saudi/UAE are more or less client states of the West. And demand is such that OPEC can't afford to push the price up; every (structural) $1 on a barrel is a step nearer pushing us to develop some other source of energy supply.

a ver, señor