As the fighting in Afghanistan ends this week, the French, in what I guess must be an
attempt to restore some Gallic dignity have announced that
the "pride" of their fleet, the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
will be sent to the Arabian Sea to "assist" the American fleet.
However, according to the UK Telegraph, the 40,000 ton Charles de Gaulle, in its
15 years of existence, has yet to complete a single successful tour of duty while
draining the nearly insolvent French treasury of nearly 12 billion dollars. Instead
of a weapon of war it is more aptly classified as a source of military amusement. During
previous brief attempts to sail, the Charles de Gaulle has lost its 19 ton
propeller, discovered its flight deck is too short and its radar was cooking the crew.
One has to wonder if it can even make it to Port Said without suffering yet another
horrible malfunction. Apparently most defense analysts view the Charles de Gaulle
as little more then a floating circus clown car.
And while the US can't stop the French from trying to jump on the terrorism victory
bandwagon, I imagine that the American admirals are determined to keep a healthy distance
between US naval ships and one that is likely to have its rudder fall off.
