The French aren’t all that bad

In past weeks, a new craze has been sweeping the nation. From the Wall Street Journal to casual conversation, France-bashing is all the rage.

For example, the New York Post ran an article referring to France and Germany as the “Axis of Weasel,” while a London newspaper ran a picture of Saddam Hussein standing triumphantly in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Opinions on France generally come down to a black-or-white view on France’s opposition of the war in Iraq.

This debate boils down to one question; is France a cowardly nation with no interest in helping those countries who helped them years ago, or is it simply a brave nation that is making a moral stand? There is another answer, however: it’s the logical and sensible act of a country that has its own interests in the Middle East. The French have every incentive to want to avoid war in the Middle East and stand to benefit from the United States going in there and messing everything up.

In addition, France has its own racial problems to deal with. French/Muslim relations have historically been tumultuous, and a war in an Arab country could only serve to weaken the bonds that have been forged in recent years.

In my opinion, the anti-French sentiment is simply a fictitious issue created by people who, for their own reasons, didn’t like France in the first place. France is not pro-Hussein, nor are they pro-dictatorship. They simply don’t support a war that has no clear cut reason for being. There is no international treaty that says that the U.S. can do whatever it wants and the rest of the world must react with full, resounding support.

Further, if we are at war for the reasons we say we are, do we really need any support from other countries? The U.S. is undoubtedly the most powerful military nation in the world, and we have built an army of magnitude for two reasons: to protect America, and to exercise our muscle by squelching any country that gets out of hand. No offense to the French, but I don’t think a few thousand Frenchmen are going to swing the tides of war.

For whatever reason we are at war, be it the need for democracy, the desire to root out weapons of mass-destruction, or dare I say the need for petroleum, we are still that: at war.

Instead of bashing those nations who haven’t bought Mr. Bush’s sales pitch, we should be supporting our troops who are risking their lives in combat. Besides, I had some damn good Fourme d’Ambert cheese the other day, and I’ll be disappointed if Shop Rite stops selling it.