WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- French President Nicholas Sarkozy took a leaf out of Margaret Thatcher's guidelines on leadership Wednesday with his surprise visit to Afghanistan following the deaths of 10 French troops in a mountain battle east of Kabul. It was the largest loss of life for the French armed forces from hostile action in a quarter-century since the dark day when 58 French paratroopers were killed in their sleep in a terrorist attack outside Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, on the same night that a parallel attack killed 241 U.S. Marines sleeping in their barracks. Sarkozy's response echoed that of British Prime Minister Thatcher after 18 British soldiers were killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb booby-trap at Warrenpoint, County Down, in Northern Ireland in 1979. Thatcher flew at once to the devastated units to show her personal identification with them.
It was the largest loss of life for the French armed forces from hostile action in a quarter-century since the dark day when 58 French paratroopers were killed in their sleep in a terrorist attack outside Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, on the same night that a parallel attack killed 241 U.S. Marines sleeping in their barracks.
Sarkozy's response echoed that of British Prime Minister Thatcher after 18 British soldiers were killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb booby-trap at Warrenpoint, County Down, in Northern Ireland in 1979. Thatcher flew at once to the devastated units to show her personal identification with them.
Sarkozy's visit to France sends the message that his radically innovative foreign policy is aligned with the United States broadly but not simply following along behind. Sarkozy is also showing he will not hesitate to take the initiative and act boldly.
The Globalist | Biography of Martin Sieff
Martin Sieff has served as UPI's Managing Editor of International Affairs since 2000. Prior to joining UPI, Mr. Sieff covered the collapse of communism as Soviet affairs correspondent for The Washington Times. From 1994-1999, he served as the paper's State Department bureau chief.
Prior to joining UPI, Mr. Sieff covered the collapse of communism as Soviet affairs correspondent for The Washington Times. From 1994-1999, he served as the paper's State Department bureau chief.
Sarkozy's visit to France..
A radical step. His Napoleonic bellicosity is becoming embarrassing. Reminds me of Gen Patton, who was nicknamed "Blood and guts", or as his soldiers commented "His guts and our blood". Any fool can be brave with other people's lives, but soldiers aren't there just for your ego, they have a geo-political clout that only the truly stupid expend uselessly. keep to the Fen Causeway
Reminds me of the famous shell-shocked soldier scene from the bio-pic. A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
yes The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Chinese Proverb.
