"France ponders early pullout from Afghanistan; 4 troops killed by member of local forces" by Steven Erlanger and Alissa J. Rubin | New York Times, January 21, 2012
PARIS - President Nicolas Sarkozy of France suspended military training and assistance for Afghan forces yesterday and said he would consider an early withdrawal from Afghanistan after an Afghan soldier shot and killed four French soldiers on a base in eastern Afghanistan.
The attack was the latest in a series of episodes in which Afghan soldiers or police officers, or insurgents wearing official uniforms, have opened fire on soldiers of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan.
The killings are designed to sap Western morale and hasten the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan sooner than an agreed NATO deadline of the end of 2014, when Afghan forces are supposed to be ready to defend the country on their own.
Can't be much of that left anymore. We should have left yesterday.
A rising number of the attacks have also been born of simmering animosity between coalition forces and the Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train.
With many European countries facing unprecedented economic pressures at home, such attacks by Afghan soldiers on foreign troops have added to public questioning of the value of continued involvement in Afghanistan. If France were to reduce its troops early or precipitously it could spur other countries to follow suit, Western and Afghan officials warned.
I suspect they are really not going anywhere, and I hope the price was worth the lies.
Facing a fierce battle for his reelection, Sarkozy said security had better improve in Afghanistan, if France were to stay....
Phony and politics go together like chocolate and peanut butter!
Sarkozy’s main rival, Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande, who is leading in the polls for the spring vote, immediately repeated his call for French troops to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, a break with NATO solidarity.
Related: French False Flag Saves Sarkozy
How do you say HMMMMMMMMMM in French?
The sense of French wavering was felt strongly in Kabul. Sarkozy’s talk of leaving early, even if rhetorical, “is not very good in terms of alliance cohesion,’’ said a Western official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the news media. An early French withdrawal could lay bare “real cracks in the coalition’’ at a time when the alliance is seeking a cohesive position to end the war.
NATO is trying to convince the Afghan government of its long-term commitment while pushing the Taliban insurgents to negotiate a peace deal rather than continue fighting. Both efforts have been only moderately successful.
If NATO really wanted peace we would have had it by now.
There is no question that the patience of America’s NATO allies with the expensive, deadly Afghan war has been running out.
And for the people of those places, the patience has been long gone. I've got five years on the blog to prove it.
They joined the war alongside the United States, which had been attacked by Al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001, from its sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
You know, when a newspaper keeps repeating a lie.... SIGH!
But the Taliban government is long gone, Osama bin Laden is dead, and Al Qaeda has been diminished and mostly pushed into Pakistan.
Washington, too, is looking for a dignified exit....
About Face, For'd, Harch is a great start!
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Then they said.... ????
"France agrees to extend Afghan presence" January 27, 2012
KABUL - One week after four French troops were killed by a rogue Afghan soldier, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to suspend military operations in Afghanistan, France will sign an agreement outlining its commitment here over the next two decades.
Oh, a FRENCH FOOLEY, 'eh?
French troops will continue to train their Afghan counterparts well beyond 2014, when combat operations are due to conclude, according to the agreement described by Afghan and French officials.
Related: Afghanistan After 2014
Yeah, the plan is to be there well after 2014.
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan will sign similar agreements with Britain and Italy during a trip to Europe this week....
Despite about a year of negotiations, the United States has been unable to secure its own agreement, which would govern the US military and diplomatic presence after the majority of US troops have withdrawn.
Karzai has said that he will not sign such an agreement until “NATO-led night raids,’’ are halted.
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"France pushes faster Afghan withdrawal; Sarkozy stance casts doubt on Western unity" by Jamey Keaten | Associated Press, January 28, 2012
How do you say un-flipping real in French?
PARIS - France and Afghanistan agree that NATO should hand all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013 - a year earlier than the planned US withdrawal - President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance.
And the slop being shoveled at you as news, dear 'murkn!
Sarkozy also announced a faster-track exit for France, the fourth-largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan - marking a distinct break from previous plans to adhere to the US goal of withdrawing combat forces by the end of 2014. The proposal comes a week after four unarmed French troops were killed by an Afghan soldier described as a Taliban infiltrator.
He just signed an agreement to.... SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sarkozy, alongside the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who was in Paris for a previously planned visit, said France had told the United States of its plan and will present it at a Feb. 2-3 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. He said he would call President Obama about it today.
As for the populations of such places, it is now far beyond fatigue to bald hatred.
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"France’s fast exit raises concerns in Afghanistan" January 29, 2012|By Deb Riechmann and Slobodan Lekic
Except they are not going anywhere.
KABUL, Afghanistan - France’s call for a speedier NATO exit from Afghanistan reflects the depth of war fatigue in the West and raises fears that other countries in the US-led coalition will succumb to rising political pressure and pull their troops home early.
Political pressure hasn't mattered to them for ten f***ing years, why would it now?
Yeah, I AM SICK to NOPP (no paper purchases last two days) of my f***ing pos AmeriKan newspaper, folks! How could you tell?
French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to fast-track its withdrawal - just days after an Afghan soldier gunned down four French troops - is the latest crack in a coalition strained by economic troubles in Europe and the United States, the Afghan government’s sluggish battle against corruption, on-again off-again cooperation from neighboring Pakistan, and a bloodied but dogged Taliban.
The international coalition is rushing against the clock to meet President Hamid Karzai’s goal of having the Afghan police and army in charge of the nation’s security by the end of 2014. France’s break with that timetable, which was agreed to by NATO members, now raises the question: Can the coalition stay together until then?
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France, which now has about 3,600 soldiers in the coalition force, joins the United States, Britain, Germany, and Italy in the top five largest troop-contributing nations.
Talk of an accelerated exit alarmed many Afghans, especially those who have cast their lot with the US-backed government but have little confidence in their country’s own security forces. Some said France was reneging on its promises.
Afghan lawmaker Tahira Mujadedi, who represents Kapisa, said Afghan forces there are not ready to go it alone in fighting the Taliban insurgency, which is especially strong in several of the province’s districts. She warned that if NATO forces pull back from Kapisa, it could destabilize nearby Kabul.
I was told we were winning (frown).
Foreign forces should consider staying even longer than 2014, she said.
Oh, they ALREADY ARE! They SIGNED AGREEMENTS that for some strange reason are BEING OBFUSCATED by my WAR DAILY!
“When military forces are present in a war zone, anything can happen,’’ said Mujadedi, who expressed sadness about the French troops who were killed.
But she added: “They are not here for a holiday.’’
Abdul Hadi Khalid, former Afghan interior minister and military analyst, said Sarkozy’s decision was clearly political....
No, it is the corporate media spin that looks political.
In a gentle rebuke to France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said in London yesterday that withdrawals should be dependent on security conditions on the ground....
Gee, WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE, Americans?
Other nations facing extreme economic problems, such as Italy and Spain, are not planning early withdrawals.
“We are a responsible country. We are a big country that honors its commitments that it agrees to make,’’ said Italy’s defense minister, Giampaolo Di Paola. Italy signed a pact this week aimed at supporting Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw in 2014....
Related: Italy Intimidated Out Afghanistan
Yeah, right.
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Woah, deja vu, huh?
