Francois Fillon, France's prime minister, has said Paris will strengthen its mission in Afghanistan with more helicopters, drones, intelligence-gathering equipment and about 100 extra troops. He made the announcement during a debate in the lower house of the French parliament in which members voted to keep French troops stationed in Afghanistan despite an attack there last month in which 10 soldiers were killed. The parliament, which is dominated by the party of Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, voted 343 to 210 in favour of continuing the Nato mission which involves 2,600 French troops. The vote is the first under a constitutional amendment approved in July that requires politicians to vote on any foreign military operation lasting more than four months.
Francois Fillon, France's prime minister, has said Paris will strengthen its mission in Afghanistan with more helicopters, drones, intelligence-gathering equipment and about 100 extra troops.
He made the announcement during a debate in the lower house of the French parliament in which members voted to keep French troops stationed in Afghanistan despite an attack there last month in which 10 soldiers were killed.
The parliament, which is dominated by the party of Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, voted 343 to 210 in favour of continuing the Nato mission which involves 2,600 French troops.
The vote is the first under a constitutional amendment approved in July that requires politicians to vote on any foreign military operation lasting more than four months.
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper said it stands by its account of a NATO report that described Taliban forces as better-armed than French soldiers targeted in a deadly ambush last month. Both NATO and the French military have denied the substance and the existence of any such report, saying the newspaper was referring to a leaked e-mail by an officer who gave a partial account of the incident. But the Toronto daily said the article was well-sourced and based on a confidential report, not an e-mail. "The Globe and Mail obtained the report from a trusted source, and checked its authenticity with other sources," Philippe Devos, assistant foreign editor at the Toronto daily, told AFP in an e-mail. Marked "NATO/ISAF SECRET," the report bears the four pointed blue star symbol for NATO and the green emblem of the International Security Assistance Force, the newspaper said. The paper on Saturday quoted the report on the deadly August 18 ambush as saying the paratroopers had run out of ammunition after only 90 minutes and had one radio that was quickly knocked out, leaving them unable to call for air support. Ten French soldiers were killed in the assault. The mountain ambush east of Kabul was the deadliest ground attack on international troops since they were sent to Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the hardline Taliban regime.
Both NATO and the French military have denied the substance and the existence of any such report, saying the newspaper was referring to a leaked e-mail by an officer who gave a partial account of the incident.
But the Toronto daily said the article was well-sourced and based on a confidential report, not an e-mail.
"The Globe and Mail obtained the report from a trusted source, and checked its authenticity with other sources," Philippe Devos, assistant foreign editor at the Toronto daily, told AFP in an e-mail.
Marked "NATO/ISAF SECRET," the report bears the four pointed blue star symbol for NATO and the green emblem of the International Security Assistance Force, the newspaper said.
The paper on Saturday quoted the report on the deadly August 18 ambush as saying the paratroopers had run out of ammunition after only 90 minutes and had one radio that was quickly knocked out, leaving them unable to call for air support.
Ten French soldiers were killed in the assault. The mountain ambush east of Kabul was the deadliest ground attack on international troops since they were sent to Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the hardline Taliban regime.
PARIS: One month after ten French soldiers died in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, the government announced Monday that it would reinforce its presence there, sending more troops and better equipment despite the outpouring of anguish over the deaths. There have been several reports - in the media and from leftist opposition politicians - that French troops were poorly equipped for their deployment in the rugged mountains east of Kabul. But Prime Minister François Fillon said during a debate in Parliament on the Afghan deployment that the government was more determined than ever to stay. "The president of the republic and government have learned the lesson from this murderous ambush," Fillon said in the National Assembly. "We have decided to strengthen our military means. "Not acting would leave the Afghans at the mercy of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, would re-expose us to the risk of terrorism and would leave our allies to fight for us alone."
PARIS: One month after ten French soldiers died in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, the government announced Monday that it would reinforce its presence there, sending more troops and better equipment despite the outpouring of anguish over the deaths.
There have been several reports - in the media and from leftist opposition politicians - that French troops were poorly equipped for their deployment in the rugged mountains east of Kabul. But Prime Minister François Fillon said during a debate in Parliament on the Afghan deployment that the government was more determined than ever to stay.
"The president of the republic and government have learned the lesson from this murderous ambush," Fillon said in the National Assembly. "We have decided to strengthen our military means.
"Not acting would leave the Afghans at the mercy of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, would re-expose us to the risk of terrorism and would leave our allies to fight for us alone."
This could get interesting. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Fast-forward to 2006: Iraq war was used against Republicans running for re-election.
The closer we get to 2012, the more nervous UMP MPs will be... Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
