France to send 2,000 troops to Lebanon

[Blackleaf]

Canada is a war fighting Nation, and we decide when and when not to go to War

If Canada is a "war fighting" nation, then why is it that you only ever send peacekeepers anywhere? The current War in Afghanistan is the first time since 1953 that Canadian soldiers have been killed in conflict, whereas only ONE year since WWII - 1968 - have British soldiers NOT been killed in conflict. So much for Canada being a "war fighting" nation.

As for WWI and WWII, it was inevitable that Canada would have troops fighting because in both those Wars it was the British Empire (of which Canada was very much a part of) and NOT Britain that was fighting NAZI Germany. Canada didn't really have a choice.

And you say "the British Empire has gone". But was has the British Empire got to do with it? You must have such an inferiority complex about the Empire that you have to mention it at times when it isn't even relevant.

But, even though the British Empire has gone, Britain is still very much a World Power. It is the world's 2nd-biggest defence spender (in total spent and the amount spent per soldier) after the United States, has the world's 2nd-biggest Global Projection capabilities after the United States (and only the US, Britain and France can project their forces to anywhere in the world within 24 hours) and it has the world's 2nd-largest (in terms of gross tonnage) and 2nd-most powerful navy after the USN. Only the United States and Britain, and maybe France, have true Blue Water navies.






2005 figures for the top five world defence spending nations are as follows:-

Rank........Nation.......2005 budget......Total service personnel......Spending per serviceman
1...............US..........$465 billion...........1,473,000....................$315,682
2..............Britain......$51.1 billion...........200,000...................$255,500
3..............Japan........$44.7 billion..........239,000...................... $187,029
4..............France.......$41.6 billion..........254,000...................... $163,779
5..............Germany....$30.2 billion..........284,000...................... $106,330

Canada ranks about 18th, behind nations such as Spain and Australia. If you are a "war fighting" nation you have to spend more on your military.




Note: Figures are calculated on a direct currency exchange basis. For information, using direct currency exchange, Russia has a defence budget of US$18.8 billion and China a defence budget of US$29.5 billion. In our opinion the currency exchange figures are a more honest reflection of the actual situation than the purchasing power parity (PPP) figures

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• Number of troops from each country that fought in First Iraq War 1991

United States: 550,000 troops
Saudi Arabia: 52,000 troops (but only 20-40,000 took part in the liberation of Kuwait)
Turkey: 50,000 troops (but did not take part in any battle)
United Kingdom: 43,000 troops Operation Granby
Egypt: 35,000 troops
United Arab Emirates: 1,000 troops
Oman: 950 troops
France: 14,663 troops Opération Daguet
Syria: 16,000 troops
Kuwait: 7,000 troops
Bangladesh: 2,000 troops
Pakistan: 5,500 troops
Canada: 2,700 troops Operation FRICTION
Niger: 500 troops
Bahrain: 200 troops
Morocco: 2,000 troops
Netherlands: 200 troops
Honduras: 150 troops

The Empire may have gone but Britain is still the world's No2 power and is THE military power of Europe. In fact, we're the only power in Europe - not counting Russia - that has any significant military power in the world.​

 

[Blackleaf]

Blackleaf, what do you say about the french MBT (Main Battle Tanks) which just arrived in Lebanon ? Is that enough or do you want all french army in Lebanon ?

Blabla

No, it's not enough. I think France should also put a few thousand troops in Afghanistan, too. NATO has been desperate for more troops in Afghanistan and has blasted France and Germany for not doing enough there. Come on, be brave. Just do it.

 

[a.blabla]

Blackleaf,

France has many operations all over the world :
_ Lebanon : 1650 men with MBT and, more interesting for population, 6 baileys bridges. Moreover we have many boats.
_ Afghanistan : around 2000
That's not enough for you, but where is the UK in Ivory Coast (3600), Congo, Tchad, Kosovo (2000) etc. ?

It's not because you don't know where the french army is, that we don't do anything. I'm sure that there are british soldiers in many theaters that we don't know (Liberia for exemple). In fact, the problem is that you focus only what you want and not the globality.

Blabla