Should We Help the French? (merged with similar)

[Orleander]

So, if they asked, should we help them? Take the high road and show them we help when asked, or tell them to take a flying leap?

Ivory Coast mobs mobs clash with French

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) -- French troops clashed with soldiers and angry mobs Saturday after government warplanes killed at least nine French peacekeepers and an American civilian in an airstrike -- mayhem that threatened to draw foreign troops deeper into Ivory Coast's escalating civil war.

Mob violence broke out in Ivory Coast's largest city, Abidjan, after France retaliated for the airstrike by destroying two government warplanes at an airport outside the capital.

Thousands of pro-government youths, some armed with machetes, axes or chunks of wood, took to the streets of Abidjan, the country's commercial capital. Crowds went door to door looking for French citizens and set fire to a French school, sending a pall of smoke over the city.

"Everybody get your Frenchman!" young men in the mob shouted to each others.

Later, massive explosions and heavy gunfire rocked Yamoussoukro, the capital of the West African nation. It was not immediately known what caused the apparent fighting in the city, where both Ivorian and French forces are based.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session Saturday, with U.S. and French diplomats preparing a sharp warning to Ivory Coast's government.

France quickly sent three Mirage fighter jets to West Africa and ordered more troops to Ivory Coast in response to the violence.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo would be "held personally responsible by the international community for (maintaining) the public order in Abidjan."

Hard-liners in Ivory Coast's military broke a more than year-old cease-fire, launching surprise airstrikes Thursday against rebel positions and vowing to retake the northern part of the country in rebel hands since the civil war began in 2002.

Government officials said Saturday's airstrike that hit a French peacekeeper position was an accident -- but the violence highlighted the nationalist fervor in the pro-government south.

Many in the south resent the French troops, suspecting them of siding with rebels, even though the peacekeepers have protected government troops in the past. France has about 4,000 troops in Ivory Coast, and a separate U.N. peacekeeping force numbers around 6,000.....

[Question]

We can't. Because of the French's lack of support in Iraq, we don't have the manpower to support them in Africa.

[Orleander]

oooo, I like that answer.

[Mike Romeo]

They've forgotten what's it means to return a favor to a friend.

[Babysmamadrama]

Why should we, they will just snub us again afterward. Or tell us we are doing it all wrong.

[vadep]

F 'em

[Orleander]

And isn't there a parable somewhere about turning the other cheek?

[tpd_six]

F 'em

One of my favorite sayings.
http://www.thoseshirts.com/french.html

[Orleander]

They may call them rebels, but are they simply patroits trying to get rid of the French, much like Americans getting rid of British control?
Honestly, who is the bad guy here?

[Piggy]

I think we should do what they did to us. Side with the Ivory Coast Government, criticize France, make secret deals with the warlords and deny everything.

I think the US should back out and say "let the UN handle it". It'll only take a few decades and peace will be restored.

[michiganstud]

I'm sure we'll be there. We have a track record for being in wars we don't belong.

[massgrunt]

Actually, when it comes to using advanced military technology to slaughter 3d world types, it's old hat for the French. Makes them feel tough. And I bet it's the foreign legion, anyway.

[Mike Romeo]

I'm sure we'll be there. We have a track record for being in wars we don't belong.

Hey winch! :D

[michiganstud]

Hey winch! :D

Yes?

[Mike Romeo]

Yes?

You acknowledged that? I thought you were my pimp! :D