''We were going to stick it out, but it's time to go,'' Iddo Yodder, a gray-bearded Mennonite missionary from Lott, Texas, said as he was evacuated.
The funny thing is, the unit that usually performs these types of missions for France is the Foreign Legion. You know, the one whose enlisted ranks are made up of soldiers from every country in the world...except France.
Oh for God's sake Alex ... The French Foreign Legion is like the British Ghurkas. Vast swathes of it's 8,500 members are French. The fact that most of the junior grunts are not is just because all the French soldiers are drawn from the elite formations of the French Army and are, as such, far better qualified to serve as officers or senior NCO's than the hoi polloi that rocks up at their recruitment centres every year.
A response from Washington was forthcoming. "When you sit your ass on a roman pantload of oil!" White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said in an address to the press corps. "And not until!" Ok, obvious cheapshots aside, even if they are factual, I've got a question about Africa: At what point do we go in? At what point does the EU and US, under the flag of the UN, say "enough is enough" and head into Africa to enforce some sort of pax Europa by any means possible? The wars / rebellions / genocides / famines / AIDS outbreaks happening throughout sub-Sahara Africa are clearly out of control, and just as clearly, the current governments can or won't do anything about it. If you go back 100 years to the partition and "rape" of the continent - check out King Leopold's Ghost if you want to read a pretty good book on the Belgian role - we can see the roots of what we have today. But there's no obvious solution, and any sort of legitimate aid is either likely to be a) too little, as is the case in Monrovia right now, b) construed as renewed European / American imperialism, or c) actual European / American imperialism. Rock and hard place, and whoever is involved with this is going to suffer. But no one has suffered more than or as much as the people on the continent of Africa. And at some point, the world is going to have to make a decision as to whether we join together to help, or let an entire continent die.
We're stretched, no question. I don't think there's anything, short of Bin Laden and Hussein popping up at a tea party in Mombassa, that could get us to Africa at this point. But my point is that the debacle at Mogadishu is still fresh, and American sentiment since then has largely been "let them sort it out for themselves." Morally, that gives me the willies. I don't think there's any question that the people of Africa, at this point, need the help of the industrialized world to survive. The questions are 1) could things get so bad in Africa that the US actually go back in?, and 2) will that even help? EDIT: desperately waiting for Alex's first White Man's Burden post...
French law prohibits French nationals from joining the legion. Those who do are generally identified by other nationalities (ie Swiss, Canadian, Walloon) Those who tend to join are from non-French areas for from France's former colonies. The British go looking for Ghurkas, the FFL does not.
THE LEGIONNAIRE'S CODE OF HONOR 1. Legionnaire : you are a volunteer serving France faithfully and with honor. 2. Every Legionnaire is your brother-at-arms, irrespective of his nationality, race or creed. You will demonstrate this by an unwavering and straight forward solidarity which must always bind together members of the same family. 3. Respectful of the Legion's traditions, honoring your superiors, discipline and comradeship are your strength, courage and loyalty your virtues. 4. Proud of your status as a legionnaire, you will display this pride, by your turnout, always impeccable, your behavior, ever worthy, though modest, your living-quarters, always tidy. 5. An elite soldier : you will train vigorously, you will maintain your weapons as if it were your most precious possession, you will keep your body in the peak of condition, always fit. 6. A mission once given to you becomes sacred to you, you will accomplish it to the end and at all costs. 7. In combat : you will act without relish of your tasks, or hatred ; you will respect the vanquished enemy and will never abandon neither your wounded nor your dead, nor will you under any circumstances surrender your arms.
ENLISTMENT REQUIREMENTS to be between the age of 17 and 40 years old (Parental or legal tutor authorization is required for minors), to hold a valid official identity card, to be physically fit for duty wherever he may be needed, knowledge of the French language is not necessary because it will be acquired during the contract. Enlistment Procedures: The first contract is for five years To enlist in the French Foreign Legion, all volunteers must present themselves in any recruiting office in France. Travel costs and the eventual obtention of a visa are borne by the candidate and no help whatsoever can be accorded by the French Foreign Legion. If successful, after preliminary medical check-ups, the candidate will be transfered to the selection center of the Legion Headquarters in Aubagne (15 kms from Marseille) where he will undergo medical, IQ and physical fitness tests. If the candidate is successfull in passing the selection, he will be asked to sign a five years unconditional contract to serve wherever the French Foreign Legion needs him. The unsuccessfull candidate is immediately returned to civilian life to rejoin his country of origin without any financial aid. The Initial Contract For four months the young legionnaire will receive a basic military instruction at the 4th Foreign Regiment located in Castelnaudary after which, he will be posted to a regiment, depending on his capabilities and the needs of the French Foreign Legion. Promotion through the ranks will depend upon his physical capacities as well as his IQ, service record and leadership abilities.
Um...no. http://www.comebackalive.com/df/military/frforleg.htm (if the text doesn't come right up click on the FFL section on the left frame) There are a number of French nationals in the Legion--I believe dual citizens can serve (as Wu-Tang already pointed out) and all officers are French, and most importantly anyone who serves for 5 years becomes a French citizen, so altho there are a lot of French citizens in the Legion most didn't start out that way.
Thinking of joining Mike? Hard to pass up the opportunity to serve France, but you're probably too old now.
One should also note that the FFL is somewhat independent of the French Military establishment. It can therefore be sent to a trouble spot on shot notice.
Officers usually only account for about 10-15% of any given military body. It's not that they don't count, it's that if only officers (and dual citizens and those who have been in for 5+ years) can be French nationals, you're restricting it to a pretty small portion of the Legion.
Do you know how to read? This is from the link you just posted: "The basic lesson is that with only 75 percent of the Legion being French, they are considered disposable" 75%. Do you understand? 3/4 of them are French citizens. Clearer?
WTF does any of this has to do with the original subject of this thread???? About how French citizens get their citizenship in general: I am French of Dutch, Italian, Spanish and...French origins. France was always a country of immigration, a melting-pot, very much like the US is. And I am "considered" French, you A-hole.
Actually the Foreign Legion doesn't perform these types of missions. That kind of job -like the one in Congo at the moment- is for the COS (Special Operations Command). In Liberia the mission was performed by several special forces units from the Navy (=SEAL's) including combat divers from the commando HUBERT. In Congo the mission is performed by about 100 SAS from 1er RPIMa (French SAS). As far as I know the only place where the FFL is engaged at the moment is Ivory Coast. As for French laws prohibiting French nationals from joining the FFL it is just not true. The FFL is not different from any other army corps (and it is not the best one if you ask me). It is open to French nationals. There are loads of French in the Legion -to begin with my uncle- and not only officers.
Ok look, to actually try to get back to the thread... To my knowledge (according to the Taiwanese press), this was a joint US-French operation. However, given the French this year, I am not going to give them a pass just yet. 1. Offering an invitation to Mugabe earlier this year despite EU travel restrictions due to his human rights abuses. 2. Support of Saddam Hussein in Iraq for God knows how long. 3. Support of Yasser Arafat - exemplified with De Villepin's visit to him a few weeks ago. 4. Inviting international thug Hu Jintao to the party at the G-8 summit. Hu shouldn't be rewarded for the behavior of China the past five weeks toward Taiwan, a democratic island of 23 million people. Is this enough to have total disdain for the powers that be in France?