Build Date: Thu Jan 15 12:30:12 2026 UTC
The first mistake of Art is to assume that it's serious.
-- Lester Bangs
France Threatens to Reinforce US Navy in Middle East
2001-12-17 15:13:49
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.
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