A Disproportionate Use of Force

Today, France was one of the nations who voted in favor of a Qatar sponsored resolution that would have condemned and called for an end to Israeli military actions in the growing Middle East conflict.

This struck me as odd. Why, you might ask? We are talking about France. Their reputation for military might is well known. It seems natural that they’d condemn any resolute military action.

However, I did remember something from the not-so-distant past that seemed very similar to the Hezbollah attacks on Israel and the subsequent response.

I did some quick research. Please take a moment to read the following passages:

“Tension came to a head when the government of President Laurent Gbagbo launched air strikes on rebel positions in the north on November 4, breaking a cease-fire that had been in force since 2003. One of the raids hit a French military camp, killing nine French soldiers and a U.S. aid worker. France, the former colonial ruler of Ivory Coast, retaliated by destroying most of the small Ivoirian air force.”

“An Ivorian government official claimed that French forces had killed at least 30 people… On Saturday, nine French soldiers were killed and 22 wounded when Ivorian jets bombed a French base in Bouake… On the orders of President Jacques Chirac, two Russian-made Sukhoi 25 fighter-bombers and five combat helicopters - most of the Ivorian air force - were destroyed. Paris also sent another 600 troops to Abidjan.”

“The U.N. Security Council, meeting Saturday in emergency session, condemned the initial attack on French forces as a violation of a May cease-fire agreement, and demanded the "immediate cessation" of military operations in accordance with that agreement.”

(Notice that they condemned the attacks on France, not France's response)

However, my favorite of passage follows:

"The United Nations has voted unanimously to impose an immediate arms embargo on Ivory Coast, following the recent outbreak of violence there.

Under the resolution, drafted by France, the ban will last 13 months."

Oh, I get it. When France suffers a small attack from an aggressive nation, a strong, swift, and crippling response goes without question. They even use their influence on the Security Council to pass both a resolution of condemnation and an arms embargo against the Ivorian government.

Where’s the Security Council actions against Lebanon. There are none. Instead, the Security Council sought to condemn Israel—the nation defending herself.

Why does France even bother trying to hide it at this point? They just need to publicly align themselves with Syria and Iran.

Wait, that won’t work, because despite public support for the Arab terrorists abroad, they still persecute their own Muslim population.

I say we draft a new UN resolution—one that officially establishes France as the most hypocritical nation in the world.

Just watch out—if we do, then their ambassador is likely to go nuts and run around the UN chambers head butting people.