Jet Fighters And Foreign Policy, French Style
December 8, 2006
France defended on Thursday its decision to send fighter jets to attack rebel forces in the Central African Republic, saying it was helping to maintain stability but its forces there had only a supporting role.
French Mirage F1 jets have repeatedly intervened in the past two weeks as government forces struggled to repel rebels they say entered the northeast from Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.
“Yes we are preoccupied by stability in the region. Yes we want to ensure that those who seek to destabilise the region cannot achieve their objectives,” defence ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau said when asked about the attacks.
“If we did nothing, the Darfur crisis would spread to the whole region,” he told a weekly news conference.
France has about 300 troops stationed in the CAR to provide logistical and intelligence support, and to help plan and conduct operations without taking part in any fighting.
France also has troops stationed in neighbouring Chad, which also borders Darfur.
“We have made commitments to Chad and Central African Republic, and it is clear that we will not shirk our commitments,” Bureau said.
Asked whether the French jets had used bombs rather than guns against the rebel forces, armed forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck simply said they had that option.
“The Mirage F1s that support the Central African Republic armed forces can be equipped with guns or bombs, and they use the instruments that are at their disposal depending on the situation,” he told reporters.
“If we did nothing, the Darfur crisis would spread to the whole region…”
That is exactly the logic employed by the Israelis as they face down terror in the face of Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.
December 8, 2006 at 11:11 pm
I guess you’ve heard the most recent accusations about France’s involvement in the Ruanda massacres. Maybe this is the result of some arm twisting. There is a lot going on in US-Europe diplomacy these days, but you only get bits and pieces. One thing being factored into the Iran equation is Russia. As if the energy dependence of Europe and the Russian supplying of atomic technology to our turbanned friends wasn’t enough, there is now polonium contamination of a Russians apartment in Hamburg.