This morning we wake up to the sad news that France yesterday lost 10 of her men (with a further 21 injured) fighting for freedom in Afghanistan. They were ambushed by a resurgent Taliban just on the outskirts of Kabul. Like the US, UK, Canadian and other NATO soldiers in Afghanistan that have lost their lives, these men will go down in history as brave soldiers who fought at the front-line of the War on Terror so that we can all ultimately live in a safer world.
We should take this opportunity to thank the French people for electing Nicolas Sarkozy, who has well and truly put the days of the weak Jacques Chirac behind us. For the first time in decades, the French have a leader that understands the value of a strong Western alliance, in the face of an unprecedented threat from global terrorists. One of the first acts of Sarkozy on the global stage was to announce that French troop numbers in Afghanistan will boosted by 700, and that they will no longer take on passive peace-keeping missions only. Despite the sad news of today, Sarkozy has announced that he will make an immediate morale boosting visit to Afghanistan. That's leadership.
We need France in the Western alliance more than ever, so thank god for Nicolas Sarkozy. At a time when our own leadership in so weak (as we just saw over the Georgian crisis), Sarkozy is more welcome than ever. Vive la France!
