With Friends Like The French ...

French Premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin is visiting China. While there he had this to say about China's new anti-secession law that authorized military action against Taiwan, "The anti-secession law is completely compatible with the position of France." Got that? "Completely compatible." Not acceptable. Not a problem to be worked around. No, China's declared intent to use military force to subdue Taiwan is "completely compatible" with French policy.

So much for France's role as moral guardian of international law.

Raffarin also vowed to push for repeal of the arms embargo against China because it contradicts the new strategic partnership between China and the EU.

Now it's certainly understandable that France would want to have good relations with China. Who wouldn't? China's a big country. It's got lots of people, it's an important global power, and it's a potential threat. So it makes sense to seek good relations as a way of managing and minimizing conflict. Better to be on good terms with them than to be in open conflict. But it's something else entirely to support China's military designs on Taiwan and to seek to sell them weapons.

Make no mistake. The likely targets of any weapons sold by France to China aren't going to be limited to Taiwanese whose only crime is wanting to live free; those targets include US soldiers, sailors and airmen.

It's nearly impossible to be an American and not hate the French these days. The French assistance to the American cause in The Revolutionary War only goes so far. As the saying goes, "what have they done for us lately?"

-tdr