COMensarations

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Could Hanson Be Right?

Are the French ‘turning’?

A couple of days ago, noted colunist Victor Davis Hanson made some comments on what he thought Europe would do with respect to the threat of Islam; specifically Iran’s nuclear weapons program. In it he suggests that Old Europe may be coming around to New World ideas, vis-a-vis, being prepared to protect yourself at a distance by attacking those who you seriously believe would attack you.

Today [060216], James ’Best of the Web Today‘ Taranto reports that the French have recalled their decommissioned aircraft carrier, Clemenceau. It was enroute to be scrapped in an Indian shipyard. He links to this report from the Financial Times.

Now, the FT reports that this is all because Greenpeace won a court case saying it was against French law to foist off on the Indians such a toxic surprise.

However, in my honest opinion, I suspect the wiley French have used this law-suit to get the return of one of their VERY FEW means of projecting power at a time when they are developing a serious need to project military power. The proverbial proof of the pudding will be whether or not the mighty Clemenceau is actually scrapped in the near future. Or, will it be re-commissioned to act as part of France’s deterrent to armed aggression by a foreign [nuclear] power?

Why do I suspect this? Well....just recently we had Jacque Chirac threatening Iran with France’s Force d’Frappe, their nukes. However, it’s hard to get nukes from France to Iran without SOME means of ‘projecting’ military power. And an aircraft carrier, even as old and venerated as the Clemenceau, can do a LOT better than a mere Mirage from Bordeaux.

Besides, the pilot on such a flight, would probably be drunk on champagne by the time he got to the target; it being an obviously one-way flight. Not very good for targeting.....