Now committed military partners.

[HeadingNorth]

In fairness it was no worse than other major armies in history. People only remember the defeat in WW2

 

 

In Britain, they don't even remember all of that. They look back at Dunkirk as some sort of major victory, rather than seeing it for what it was - the British army fleeing the field of battle at high speed to avoid being wiped out.

 

They remember that the French army got wiped out, and conveniently forget that their own army had a bolthole to run to.

[Harleyman]

Or how they made us fly around their airspace to get Gaddafi

 

You have to understand the French psyche or as it existed up until 20 or so years ago.

The loss of France to Germany in WW2 was a serious blow to thier pride and they do have a great sense of pride. De Gaulle never forgave Eisenhower or Churchill for the snubs he got from them back in WW2 or for the fact that his beloved country was liberated by Les Anglo-Saxons as he called them. I've talked to French people who say that the British Arny deserted them in 1940 at Dunkirk and blame us for the defeat rightly or wrongly.

 

They also saw the decline of their empire after WW2 and the rise of America as a leading power. A bitter pill to swallow for Gallic pride.

 

I always liked the French anyway. There's a lot to admire about them and France is a great country to visit and probably live in also

[Harleyman]

In Britain, they don't even remember all of that. They look back at Dunkirk as some sort of major victory, rather than seeing it for what it was - the British army fleeing the field of battle at high speed to avoid being wiped out.

 

They remember that the French army got wiped out, and conveniently forget that their own army had a bolthole to run to.

 

The French military leadership placed too much trust in the Maginot line which was in fact a military feat of engineering but as it turned out ineffective in doing what it was supposed to do

A majority of the French leadership still had the mentality of WW1 trench warfare also and no concept of Blitzkrieg.

 

The individual French soldier was always as good as any other soldier but let down by poor leadership

[Harleyman]

Solar power will be cheap and efficient by the which will be of little use during the UK Autumn or Winter but never mind...

 

 

 

Ha! Palin tried... and failed! "Drill, baby, drill?" What was she thinking / drinking? In the UK, we put gasoline in cars. By the sounds of things, you lot drink it

 

Besides, at the rate you're importing Mexicans, I estimate you've only got about ten years of reserves left

 

 

 

Oh really...? actually you'll find they buy $billions of weapons they don't need, to keep your economy going. I'm sure they'd happily sell their oil to the Chinese if you don't want it.

 

 

 

Don't knock our NHS eh? The worst offenders for UK Health Tourism are the Americans.

 

Remember not to fall ill now, I wouldn't want to see you dumped on the street when your health insurance runs out...!

 

x x x

 

 

We'll have plenty of solar power though Giant solar panels are being built in the deserts and when completed will be able to supply the whole of the south west. Sorry though cant sell you any

 

Considering the population numbers and the size of the country of course we drink it. How the hell do you think the length and breadth of the country are supplied with every day commodities if not by diesel powered freight trains and trucks 7,500,000 square miles to be exact and not counting Alaska

 

I dont know how much fuel Mexicans consume if you want to bring up the childish subject of ethnics but I'll lower my dignity by replying that I'm sure your many Muslim immigrants drive cars too and dont ride on camels

 

If the middle east dont need weapons why are they buying them? The Saudis are terrified of Iran and it's spreading influence. That's well known and probably other middle east countries harbor the same unease. The Chinese are buying up a lot of oil and that's a major factor in the increase in price so look forward to higher prices as time goes by. The environmentalists are blocking any further oil drilling or exploration of oil in this part of the world

 

I'm not knocking the NHS as you claim. I was a beneficiary of the system for many years and paid taxes to fund it long before you came along. My present plan is also very good and will be around as long as I live and long after I'm gone

 

You dont know much about a lot of things do you ?

[JFKvsNixon]

Remember the Falklands, they never backed us on that war. Sorry I just don't trust them, the French are more concerned about looking after number one, remember the burning of the british meat a few years ago?

 

The French's actions in the Falklands probably made sure that we didn't lose the conflict and it certainly made sure we did lose hundreds of more lives. They did far more than any other country in helping us win.

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1387576/How-France-helped-us-win-Falklands-war-by-John-Nott.html

[BritPat]

Well we all saw this coming even before we were struggling for money, we have jumped into bed militarily with France.

 

I can see a lot of benefit from this, we have after all fought along side one another (as well as against each other) for some time, so pooling resources makes some sense. The problem is that this kind of waters down our sovereignty to some degree, if we have a conflict that France does not agree with then how do we stand, and visa versa ?

 

Of course we also have to rely on them knowing the difference between advance and retreat (just got it in before everyone else )

 

Our fate is dependent on the cheese eating surrender monkeys now !

[Harleyman]

The French's actions in the Falklands probably made sure that we didn't lose the conflict and it certainly made sure we did lose hundreds of more lives. They did far more than any other country in helping us win.

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1387576/How-France-helped-us-win-Falklands-war-by-John-Nott.html

 

The Exocet missile that sunk HMS SHeffield was French made was't it and some of the Argentine jets were French built Mirages. They may have helped as you say but they also indirectly caused the British army and navy a few casualties

[JFKvsNixon]

The Exocet missile that sunk HMS SHeffield was French made was't it and some of the Argentine jets were French built Mirages. They may have helped as you say but they also indirectly caused the British army and navy a few casualties

 

Did you not read the link?

 

The French's help was instantaneous and it helped massively, it's questionable if we could have done it without their help. The only other country that helped us out in a major way was Chile. Also before we hammer the French for selling the weapons to the Argentineans, it maybe worth noting who trained their military.

[Alien]

The Exocet missile that sunk HMS SHeffield was French made was't it and some of the Argentine jets were French built Mirages. They may have helped as you say but they also indirectly caused the British army and navy a few casualties

 

No doubt about it...but superpowers who supply arms to lesser nations for what ever reason always seem so very surprised when those same weapons are used against them...what goes round comes round.

 

Personally I think it's a good thing. French Nuclear technology is far advanced to that of Britain. As for the armed forces? best working with them rather than working against them. We're on each others doorstep which seems like common sense to me.

 

I think the mentality of 'those frogs' on here is probably the same mentality used for their next door neighbours. In the very short term the US may take it as a bit of a snub, but in a few weeks from now it'll be business as usual.

[Alien]

Did you not read the link?

 

The French's help was instantaneous and it helped massively, it's questionable if we could have done it without their help. The only other country that helped us out in a major way was Chile. Also before we hammer the French for selling the weapons to the Argentineans, it maybe worth noting who trained their military.

 

 

Also Ascension Island, which is theoretically a floating US aircraft carrier. Although British territory, US logistics played a major role in equipping the task force en route to the Falklands. Without the assistance of French or US involvement the task force would have been pretty much dead in the water. I'm not sure of this but Chile's involvement was probably more about US diplomatic intervention rather than a love of the UK.