PhotoDude.com

Mon. Mar 11, 2002

Our European Allies

Our European Allies – (via USS Clueless) During Operation Anaconda, when things get hot on the ground, troops call in airstrikes, and this time around the French have been ”helping”: "...a French newspaper says France has refused to allow its warplanes to attack some of the targets assigned to it by American commanders in eastern Afghanistan. The newspaper, Le Monde, quotes unnamed French military officials, as saying that the French and Americans had a difference of opinion over some bombing missions because of the risk to the civilian population."

Now you know why the US military really prefers to go it alone. If you want something done properly, and promptly, it’s best not to rely on others. In fact, it might get your men killed. In the heat of action, there is no time to debate. In the military, you follow orders. As Steven says, "If Europeans want to know why we’ve come to not trust them, this is it: with American soldiers on the ground in danger, they couldn’t rely on their ’friends’ to remove the danger from air. It doesn’t matter why; the French were given an order and refused to follow it. The last thing that commanders in a situation like that need is to try to figure out whether a given unit will accept the orders it’s given."

In war, insubordination can get you shot. By one side or the other. Obviously, that won’t be happening in this case, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ve heard the last of French Mirages dropping weapons in Afghanistan.