Posted on 11/16/2007 3:23:49 AM PST by Clive
PARIS -- France is looking to step up its efforts in Afghanistan, but will likely stop short of any major commitment to replace Canada's troops in Kandahar, an official said here Thursday.
There has been some speculation in the Canadian media suggesting that France might provide relief for countries like Canada, which must decide what role it will play after its current commitment is met in early 2009.
But Frederic Desagneaux, deputy spokesman for French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, sought to lower expectations that the French might relieve the Canadians.
"I wouldn't go as far as that," he told CanWest News Service on the eve of today's meeting here between Mr. Kouchner and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier.
He said France, following through on President Nicolas Sarkozy's commitment to remain fully committed Afghanistan, has already taken steps to increase its involvement.
The French military has moved six Mirage fighter jets to Kandahar to support NATO troops. It has also expanded efforts to train Afghanistan's military.
"So our effort is increasing," he said. "We are really eager to contribute as much as we can to the comprehensive efforts by NATO in the context of Operation Enduring Freedom."
Canada has been pressuring allies such as Germany and France, which have troops in relatively peaceful areas such as Kabul, to share more of the heavy -- and dangerous -- load in southern Afghanistan.
France currently has roughly 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan on security and reconstruction missions, most placed in and around relatively safe Kabul.
But the French government is sensitive to the criticism and has privately noted that France -- with roughly double Canada's population -- is doing more than its share globally with an estimated 10,500 troops on NATO- and European Union-mandated missions in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa.
"Our effort is increasing; we are really eager to contribute as much as we can to the comprehensive efforts by NATO in the context of the Operation Enduring Freedom."
But Mr. Desagneaux balked when asked if France would consider, for instance, moving its troops from Kabul to Taliban-infested Kandahar in the country's south.
"You must consider that France is also heavily or very actively engaged on overseas fields," he said.
"We are reinforcing our presence in Afghanistan, we are open to many new possibilities. But it must be considered against this general context of the French military engagements overseas, which are very, very broad."
Mr. Desagneaux said the two ministers will discuss international hotspots such as Iran, Pakistan, Darfur, Myanmar and the Middle East. Bilateral issues on the table include celebrations next year to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City.
Mr. Kouchner, co-founder of the international aid group Doctors Without Borders, was a Socialist party supporter in the 2007 French presidential elections.
But he was recruited by the right-of-centre Mr. Sarkozy as part of a broader attempt to broaden the new government's coalition and public appeal.
Mr. Kouchner has been controversial as foreign minister, using the word "war" while discussing options to deal with Iran.
We will negotiate until the end. And at the same time we must prepare ourselves ... for the worst," he said.
"The worst, it's war ..."
-
“The French military has moved six Mirage fighter jets to Kandahar to support NATO troops. It has also expanded efforts to train Afghanistan’s military.”
I wish they did that in 2001 when we really needed them to get the Talibans out.
It’s kind of late but ...better late than never.
Thanks Sarko anyway.
1. Deployment as at 7 March 2002
Manas multinational airbase (Kyrgyzstan)
- 6 Mirage 2000 Ds
- 2 KC-135 FRs
- 450 men
Transit detachment stationed in Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
- 100 men
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul
- 1 battalion
- 500 men
Maritime force
- Naval aviation group
- Participation in maritime surveillance
- Mine warfare group
- 3,500 men
Total force strength: 4,500
2. Progress report as at 7 March
Securing the Mazãr-i-Sharif airport perimeter during repair of the runway
- 200 men from 2 December 2001 to 2 February 2002
Mirage IVs (air reconnaissance)
starting on 23 October: 77 missions - 445 flying hours
Super Etendards (reconnaissance and close air support)
since 16 December: 210 missions - 1,400 flying hours
Mirage 2000 Ds (offensive support)
since 2 March: 19 missions - 180 flying hours
In-flight refuelling of coalition planes by C135 FRs
starting on 23 October: 140 missions - 850 flying hours
Coalition surveillance of airspace (E2C Hawkeyes):
since 16 December: 86 missions - 380 flying hours
3. Operation Anaconda
10 targets struck (al-Qaida positions) by French Super Etendards and Mirage 2000 Ds, as at 7 March 2002.
Also participation of French reconnaissance, in-flight refuelling and air-surveillance capabilities./.
I am impressed!
So what all this “freedom fries” stuff was all about? Just an hoax???
That was all about Iraq. The French have been good partners in Afghanistan since the beginning.
I am grateful for the apparent change in deployment policy but I wil be more impressed when I see France's caveats fully removed and the ROE made robust so that their infantry can be deployed to the hot theatres in Kandahar and Helmand provinces instead of the relatively safe ones near Kabul.
It would be nice to see the Legion Etranger working with the Vandoos in Kandahar.
Look at it this way: we had the Brits and Spanish then, and they are both backing out now. So vive le France.
Better late, than never—I guess.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.