Long may it wave
We now know that the end for Muammar Qaddafi came when French fighter jets attacked his convoy as it was attempting to flee Sirte. It was at that point that the Libyan rebels (I guess they're not rebels anymore) captured him and er, finished him off.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/20/muammar-qaddafi-captured-in-libya-commander-says/
Let there be no doubt. France is now the leader of the Free World, the universal beacon of light, and purveyor of fine cheese! Somewhere up in Heaven, Charles de Gaulle is smiling.
Charles de Gaulle doing the duck walk down the Champs d'Elysees after the Americans, Brits and Canadians liberated France in 1944.
Hey! Let's sing the Marseillaise!
"Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows
What do they want this horde of slaves
Of traitors and conspiratorial kings?
For whom these vile chains
These long-prepared irons?
Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
What methods must be taken?
It is us they dare plan
To return to the old slavery!
What! These foreign cohorts!
They would make laws in our courts!
What! These mercenary phalanxes
Would cut down our warrior sons
Good Lord! By chained hands
Our brow would yield under the yoke
The vile despots would have themselves be
The masters of destiny
Tremble, tyrants and traitors
The shame of all good men
Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Will receive their just reward
Against you we are all soldiers
If they fall, our young heros
France will bear new ones
Ready to join the fight against you
Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors
Bear or hold back your blows
Spare these sad victims
That they regret taking up arms against us
But not these bloody despots
These accomplices of Bouillé
All these tigers who pitilessly
Ripped out their mothers' wombs
We too shall enlist
When our elders' time has come
To add to the list of deeds
Inscribed upon their tombs
We are much less jealous of surviving them
Than of sharing their coffins
We shall have the sublime pride
Of avenging or joining them
Drive on sacred patriotism
Support our avenging arms
Liberty, cherished liberty
Join the struggle with your defenders
Under our flags, let victory
Hurry to your manly tone
So that in death your enemies
See your triumph and our glory"
Supposedly George Patton said, "I'd rather have a German division in front of me, than a French one behind." I think it was misattributed but the sentiment rings true. I think the French rank behind only the Italians in who surrenders first in a battle.
ReplyDeleteHere is the French Special Forces Precision Drill Team
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=1734
Click on the picture to enlarge it.
You now get my sense of how much fighting the French actually did in this 4 month plus effort that would have taken a US Battalion less than a week and probably without a casualty.
(What was it billed as..."Days, not weeks" or "Weeks, not months"?
If we hadn't supplied all the logistical support and transported them around it is questionable if they would have ever won at all on their own.
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Make up your mind Gary. Do you want the USA in there or not? If you want us to get the credit for nailing Qaddafi, we have to be there. If you want to let the French fly all the missions, then they are going to get the glory. It's one way or the other.
ReplyDelete(Also, it sounds better when you sing "Aux armes, citoyens").
Miggie: Ask any African American veteran of World War I to compare the honor of the French officers vs. the American officers. If they've all died, go look it up in a book. It's not hard to find.