"... Every country, it seems, is now within range of someone’s aircraft..."

FLC

"There are few things more pitiful than a fading star trying to hold onto past glory. It’s a common phenomenon among athletes and entertainers. Empires frequently do the same. They strut, posture, and whine long after people stop paying attention to them. The U.S. likely will eventually do the same. Uncle Sam is effectively bankrupt. Rising powers increasingly will deter the American government from intervening against them. Countries around the world, friend and foe alike, will be less inclined to take orders from Washington. Still, the U.S. remains the most powerful state. It will be able to preen as the world’s number one for some time.

Sarkoleon

France has no such luck........ France lost its colonial empire after spilling much blood in a vain attempt to retain Vietnam and Algeria. ...... France maintains a potent but limited military. It is impressive by European standards, but that isn’t much of a standard. ....... President Nicolas Sarkozy is in political trouble. Which means he is ready for military adventure........ the hyperactive French president is marching about in platform shoes, bombing one nation and threatening many others. It is behavior fit for an old Jerry Lewis comedy........ The stated grounds were fraudulent—Libya’s civil war was no worse than many others around the globe—but provided a convenient opportunity for Nicolas Sarkozy to climb atop the world stage......... The good news was President Obama said yes. The bad news was President Obama was serious about turning responsibility over to NATO. Which meant Messrs. Sarkozy and Cameron quickly found their countries at war essentially alone. While the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg pronounced in favor of the necessity of war, it had no airplanes to contribute. ..... Qaddafi  was supposed to “just go,” allowing President Sarkozy to march through the Arc de Triomphe to mass applause. However, victory was giving way to embarrassment........  Sarkozy is not the first politician to have foolishly plunged into an unnecessary war with fantastically optimistic assumptions about the outcome. Plan A was for Washington to fight his war. Apparently there was no Plan B......

Although the attention of the Elysee Palace is focused on Libya, Nicolas Bonaparte Sarkozy’s ambitions are not limited to that nation. France intervened in the violent political crisis in the Ivory Coast—nominally in the name of democracy, but Paris long has manipulated its old Francophone African empire, and rarely for humanitarian purposes.

However, shortly after initiating the Libyan adventure, France decided to become an empire for democracy. Foreign Minister Juppe said that the Libyan campaign should serve as a warning to Arab autocrats: “I say sometimes that the job of a dictator is now a high-risk job.” Singling out Saudi Arabia and Syria, he added: “Let’s hope that all this will serve as an example.”

But Sarkoleon, as some now call him, didn’t stop there. His list of potential targets was far longer. At the European Union summit in mid-April, he told the press that the Libyan mission created a precedent for the so-called “responsibility to protect.” He declared: “Every ruler should understand, and especially every Arab ruler should understand that the reaction of the international community and of Europe will be from this moment on each time be the same: we will be on the side of peaceful protesters ..."...  Every country, it seems, is now within range of someone’s aircraft.

But most important, there remains the small question: Whose military?....... it won’t be France........  Sarkoleon can’t even force Muammar Qaddafi to flee into exile. The pitiable French president has been reduced to asking Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Bulgaria, among other NATO members, for help. The real Napoleon didn’t have to go around with a tin cup begging for military aid. He had the best army on the continent and imposed his will at will. He made allies through conquest and extracted assistance through threats. When Napoleon Bonaparte spoke, countries listened. When today’s Napoleon-wannabe speaks, people snicker...."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 4:40 PM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian