Interesting - Conservative French Pres-Elect promises "retreat", Taliban releases kidnapped worker

[zbdent]

Gee, I found this tiny little blurb in the back pages of a Saturday newspaper. I haven't been able to access DU much this weekend, so I don't know if it was noted ...

The CONSERVATIVE President-elect of France, darling of the "liberal media" here in the USA (Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, etc.), promises to pull his forces out of Afghanistan ... essentially "declaring defeat" ... and the Taliban releases a kidnapped worker ...

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/world/17216449.htm

AFGHANISTAN

French hostage freed

A French aid worker kidnapped by the Taliban five weeks ago was freed Friday, and the militant group credited the release to comments by France's president-elect that French troops will eventually leave Afghanistan. Also Friday, new airstrikes killed up to 10 Taliban fighters near where villagers say about 40 civilians died in a battle earlier this week.

[Kagemusha]

1. Eventually eh

We'll see. That's a pretty open-ended sounding soundbyte.

[dave_p]

2. Hmm

"The long-term presence of French troops in that part of the world does not look definitive to me"

Yes, it's kind of what real governments are meant to say, rather than "We're with you all the way, George".

I wouldn't expect any radical change just yet.

[zbdent]

3. but a conservative Frenchie is promising "retreat" in the war on teror

and the Repukes like the guy?

[dave_p]

4. I'm not finding that quoted

You sure about it?

[Rydz777]

5. I didn't find it either but I checked LeFigaro on line

and they say that the release has been attributed to the fact that Sarkozy, while he was a candidate, did say that French troops would "eventually" be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

[dave_p]

6. Yes

That was between the two Presidential rounds... it's alleged to be part of a deal to free the French hostages, but there's not much more to it that the quote I mentioned earlier.

Seems he's basically saying "We have troops there. But they may not be there forever." So I'd treat it with caution. especially since it was during the campaign.

More promising it the suggestion that he may pick a socialist critic of the US for foreign minister. It'll be interesting to see if it happens - it'd be something of a first when the President has a parliamentary majority too.

[zbdent]

7. He said "retreat" and "defeat" and "lose"

as much as Dems did ... and look at what Rush Limbaugh and the scum who drink his excretions say ...

[dave_p]

8. I like this one

"We have seen what happened with a military intervention in a country of 25 million inhabitants. You can imagine what would happen with a military intervention in a country with 75 million inhabitants."