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French official says Afghan withdrawal needed
...so the Germans can march in the shade.
Why should France stay when America's president is already committed to leaving? This is one of those hoist with/by his own petard thingies, only the rest of us get to enjoy the sensation, too. Given how often President Obama has demonstrated stereotypical American cowboy ignorance -- remember the speech at the UN about Iran, when he already knew what we only found out later? -- I can't blame President Sarkozy for not trusting the man to get it right this time, for all he seems to be turning into Bush 3.
PARIS - France and the international community should begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in the months ahead to help push Afghanistan towards democracy, a senior French foreign affairs official said on Friday.
That doesn't make a bit of sense. He wants to use Karzai's foot-dragging and bin-Laden's threat (made from beyond the void) to cut and run.
Axel Poniatowski, a member of the ruling UMP party and head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai's decision this week to delay the inauguration of parliament was a "bad sign for democracy".

France has about 3,500 troops in Afghanistan, although the U.S.-led war has been largely unpopular in the country. At least 50 French soldiers in Afghanistan have been killed since 2001.

"I am convinced that the beginning of a gradual withdrawal of international troops from the summer of 2011 would keep the pressure on the Afghan authorities by indicating that our commitment is not unlimited," Poniatowski said in a statement.

The presence of French troops in Afghanistan is a factor contributing to a heightened state of vigilance in France against a possible attack by Islamic militants.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned on Friday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's refusal to remove its forces from Afghanistan gave his followers a green light to kill French hostages held around the world. Bin Laden's warning -- his second targeting French policy -- was made in an audio clip broadcast by al-Jazeera television and could not be independently verified.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France remained committed to the international force in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White 2011-01-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=314409