Just as U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks was wrapping up his weeklong test exercise for running Central Command from the new mobile HQ in Qatar, and as the U.S. and Qatar completed their long negotiations on giving the U.S. bases a permanent legal presence, an extremely nervous visitor arrived in the Gulf state. She is Michele Marie-Alliot, France's defense minister, who is exceedingly worried that France is about to be played out of the game. The French have hitherto supplied some 90 percent of Qatar's defense imports, and the French are deeply suspicious that part of the new U.S.-Qatari relationship includes a special procurement deal. In Paris, Marie-Alliot's success will be judged on her ability to complete the deal for Qatar to buy 100 French-made Leclerc tanks, naval combat helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system. Word is that she is batting 0 for 3, with the Americans now close to a deal to sell Abrams tanks. The Russians are offering a cheap package of their old and new S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft system, and the Qatars are looking hard at alternatives for the naval choppers. Zut alors! That will teach Paris to be sniffy about invading Iraq.
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