We’ve come a long way since the Freedom Fries era.
In Afghanistan, the French took the lead in going out and rescuing their people. While it took the British and French shaming the likes of Biden and Milley for some U.S, rescues of Americans to finally take place.
Now the French are making their position on the Taliban clear.
The Taliban are lying and France will not have any relationship with its newly-formed government, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said late on Saturday before heading for talks in Qatar on Sunday to discuss future evacuations from Afghanistan.
“They said they would let some foreigners and Afghans leave freely and (talked) of an inclusive and representative government, but they are lying,” Le Drian said on France 5 TV.
“France refuses to recognise or have any type of relationship with this government. We want actions from the Taliban and they will need some economic breathing space and international relations. It’s up to them.”
Le Drian, who is heading to the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, said there were still a few French nationals and a few hundred Afghans with ties to France remaining in Afghanistan.
That last part sounds more like Blinken’s talking points, but the rest is an unapologetic rejection of the Taliban. Why are the French capable of stating the obvious, that the Taliban have lied and strung along the Biden administration, while Secretary of State Tony Blinken keeps whining that the Taliban aren’t creating an inclusive government?
That question answers itself.
The French have a history of bellicose rhetoric that doesn’t live up to reality, but it’s still a whole lot more refreshing to hear stuff like this.
“There will be no political contact with the Taliban,” Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio on Thursday.
Beaune was defending Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who earlier came under fire for saying he hoped to see the Taliban form an “inclusive” government in Afghanistan.
“When you take power by force, you have no authority … there is no soft ‘Talibanism’,” Beaune said, adding that Le Drian had simply shared his hope that political talks taking place between Afghan officials could continue.
The Biden administrations meanwhile keeps suggesting that it might provide aid to the Taliban and will continue dealing with them.
The pathway from an Afghanistan withdrawal was always clear. Don’t negotiate with the Taliban. Get all of our people out. Provide what support is possible to the Afghan government to make our withdrawal as smooth as possible. But don’t get dragged into nation-building or any delusional fantasies that the Taliban will join some sort of inclusive government. That this idiotic fantasy became the basis for the withdrawal plans of White House administrations testifies to a basic refusal to deal with the reality of what the Jihad is.
The French are hardly my ideal model, but they’re at least coming closer to addressing what the Taliban are.
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