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| Africa: West |
| ’All that is French will be attacked’ |
| 2003-12-02 |
| Waving knives and machetes, pro-government mobs extended their siege of France’s main military base in CÃŽte d’Ivoire for a second day on Tuesday —demanding that French peacekeepers withdraw from the former French colony to allow government forces to resume attacks on rebels. Hundreds of demonstrators — better armed on Tuesday, after carrying only rocks and planks on Monday — lit bonfires in the streets and heaved stones over barracks walls bristling with razor wire. For a second day, French soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd, which started gathering on Monday at the base in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan. Pro-government militias also delivered an ultimatum on Tuesday to the French: French peacekeepers had until 2000 on Tuesday to withdraw from the West African nation’s ceasefire lines. If not, militia leaders and youth groups said, their fighters would open attacks on the estimated 16 000 French civilians and 4 000 French troops living in Ivory Coast. "All that is French will be attacked," pledged Narcisse N’Depo, a youth leader outside the French military base. You attack the FFL and you aren’t gonna get any older. French diplomats refused immediate comment on the threat, and it was unclear how big a following the militias had, to carry out the ultimatum. Not enough to overrun the French base, but enough to turn the civilians into mincemeat. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #14 "All your French are belong to us!!!" SHEESH YOU GUYS ARE HILLARIOUS!! |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2003-12-2 10:41:21 PM |
| #13 Ya know, if the French would just have acted with their allies, instead of going off unilaterally and getting involved in this, none of this would have happened. Right? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-2 9:53:10 PM |
| #12 I do not wish ill on the French - they are dong a good enough job of bringing that on themselves - I only wish they would act as allies rather than strategic opponents. They are really screwing the pooch here - let's hope they solve it with a minimum of bloodshed. Should it bring about regime change, well....that's something to hope for, but it seems that the confrontational and oppositional attitude extends much further than Jacque and the she-bitch Dominique |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-12-2 7:06:19 PM |
| #11 "All your French are belong to us!!!" |
| Posted by: BH 2003-12-2 6:13:17 PM |
| #10 Although it would be entertaining to see Chiraq and DiVillpin look silly, this situation looks really bad. In his book Somalia on Five Dollars a Day, Martin Stanton describes a situation where he tries to use an understrength miltary unit to stop the looting of a food shipment. He got the soldiers in the middle of a large group of people and a riot ensued. He was then faced with the choice of protecting his own soldiers by killing the leader of the riot or retreating and showing the rioters that the orders of American Peacekeepers could be disregarded. Quite a bit on the continent of Africa hinges on the French response to this rioting. If there is a massacre of French civilians, could this not lead to a massacre of Europenas throughout the entire continent? Personally, I am glad that ther French has brought tear gas to the party. If some old geezer with emphazema keels over after being hit with a riot control agent, oh well. This situation looks to being headed down the toilet in a reverse corialis spiral. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-12-2 6:09:34 PM |
| #9 "French's Mustard is a purely American product, originally made in Rochester, NY. Mr. French was not French either." Was told that there was once notice on the French's company website the only thing French's had in common with the French is that "we're both yellow." |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-2 12:59:25 PM |
| #8 Even the vaunted Legionaires can die, if the enemy is determined enough. Remember, it was the FFL that was almost completely wiped out at Dien Bien Phu. Odds of 10-1, 100-1, even 1000 to 1 are not impossible. When the ammo's gone, and you're using your rifle as a club, you and your enemy are on equal footing. If there are more of them than you, you're dead. The French have attempted to impose a peace on two mutually exclusive groups, and will now find themselves attacked by both. They are well and truly screwed - nothing they do will be "right", and they will either flee or be destroyed. French 'support' of the Ivory Coast "rebels", mostly Muslim tribesmen and foreigners, have caused the one thing they didn't want - the unification of Ivory Coast non-Muslims in opposition to them. It's gonna be long, it's gonna be bloody, and the outcome won't be known for probably several years. In the meantime, 'investment' in Ivory Coast, and trade for the normal exports from the Ivory Coast, will be spotty and extremely costly. The price of a Snickers bar may be two or three times what it is now before the war's settled. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-12-2 12:39:45 PM |
| #7 Do you think the FFL have done their reload yet. From rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas to something with a little more ummph. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-2 11:50:42 AM |
| #6 " In other news, all the frogs in Côte d’Ivoire have mysteriously gone missing. Reports range from the frogs being stepped on, to the frogs boarding a Concord and plunging into the sea. " |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-12-2 11:14:18 AM |
| #5 Mr. French was not French either. You mean Sebastian Cabot? (God rest his soul) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-12-2 10:42:59 AM |
| #4 (I was joking.) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-2 10:12:48 AM |
| #3 French's Mustard is a purely American product, originally made in Rochester, NY. Mr. French was not French either. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-12-2 10:08:07 AM |
| #2 The city quickly ran out of French fries, French toast, French Chew, and French's mustard. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-2 9:55:50 AM |
| #1 "French diplomats refused immediate comment" Aren't they on strike? Or are they scabs? I mean, more than usual. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-12-2 9:50:14 AM |