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2004-12-10 Europe
The French Have Saved Us. (No, really!)
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Posted by Chuck 2004-12-10 4:15:36 AM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 That's prolly cuz they don't have the ALCU and other "patriotic" groups whining whenever they come out of their offices to investigate things.
Posted by Laurence of the Rats  2004-12-10 9:37:44 AM|| [http://www.punictreachery.com/]  2004-12-10 9:37:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 This should be no surprise: having a first class covert intelligence service is probably the most prudent thing to have if they can't afford a REAL military force. Fits right in with their character...

All snarkiness aside, I thank the French spooks. I can hope Old Patriot has a few French contacts and can pass those thanks along.
Posted by Ptah  2004-12-10 10:12:40 AM|| [http://www.crusaderwarcollege.org]  2004-12-10 10:12:40 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 I think that the American problem is that civilians, bureaucrats, political leaders and the intelligence community have lost touch with what spying is all about. By their Cold War definition, spying is about "gathering information". But while important, there is a lot more to spying than this. Going back to bibical times, spies were assassins, saboteurs, fifth columnists, agents provacateurs, *and* gatherers of information. In truth, they are "expendable", and never to be trusted fully. They exist in the shadows and should never be allowed to stand in the corridors of power.
Posted by Anonymoose 2004-12-10 10:25:39 AM||   2004-12-10 10:25:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 I just hope that, now that the story has been broken, the French spooks don't get in trouble for helping us! I'm only half kidding.
Posted by Justrand 2004-12-10 10:43:05 AM||   2004-12-10 10:43:05 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Anybody that blows up a Greenpeace ship can't be all bad.
Posted by Chuck Simmins  2004-12-10 11:33:35 AM|| [http://blog.simmins.org]  2004-12-10 11:33:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 A hearty thank you, then, to that part of the French government that values results over posturing. So, does this begin to make up for their forged Nigerian yellowcake documents? (The ones that Wilson made such a fuss about?)
Posted by trailing wife 2004-12-10 11:57:53 AM||   2004-12-10 11:57:53 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 France does an excellent job in identifying and deterring and handling domestic threats. Their security forces are far better organized than ours and their judges have vastly more power than the most hysterical anti-Patriot Act idjets can even imagine.
Posted by lex 2004-12-10 3:07:51 PM||   2004-12-10 3:07:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 And they are not hamstrung by Church Committee fallout / insanity... IIUC, our CIA is even officially proscribed from bribing officials of any government. Hell, if followed, that puts 95% - oh, okay, 99% - of the world off-limits to effective intel. Sigh.
Posted by .com 2004-12-10 3:17:23 PM||   2004-12-10 3:17:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Thank Frank Church (may he rot in hell) and his commission to destroy American intelligence that the CIA can't get their hands dirty by dealing with nasty people.

As though Boy Scouts would know about the bad stuff coming down.

Luckily the rest of the world isn't so naive.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut  2004-12-10 3:20:06 PM||   2004-12-10 3:20:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Okay, I'll bite - iff this article bodes true then what is CHIRAC doing, or hoping to accomplish, with his virulent anti-Ameicanisms!?
Posted by JosephMendiola  2004-12-10 9:03:57 PM|| [http://n/a]  2004-12-10 9:03:57 PM|| Front Page Top

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