RufusAtticus

In tales praising the glory of war, they never talk about the hard stuff that comes after a battle. Maybe people wouldn't fight as much if they knew they'd have to clean up the awful mess.

-David Brin, Brightness Reef

Amen-Moses

Because they both have had their countries destroyed by it in living memory? But you already knew that.

Amen-Moses

yaktldg

Why are Bush and Blair so afraid of Iraq? That is the question.

Jane Bovary

Why are Germans and French so "afraid" of war?

Maybe it's because war is horrific and destructive, ruins lives, kills and maims people, devastates whole families, destroys cities, costs massive amounts of money and has scarily uncertain outcomes.

Or maybe they're just spoilsports...

leonarde

Germany is another question. France however is manifestly not afraid of war. Nor is it afraid of truly unilateral action. That's exactly what the "French Foreign Legion" is for: unilateral (mostly), military action in foreign countries. Nor has the Legion had to go for very long without practice.....

Cheers!

Larry

Germany and France affraid of war? Bullcrap!!! They were our allies in the 1991 Gulf War.

They are affraid of the results of this war. It puts a ton of their contract monies into jeapordy.

They want to help out after this war is over? Fine. The should forgive the Iraqi debts and stay home.

matthias j.

Maybe it is because more than 85% of their population is against the war? That is off course mere conjecture, after all, why would any democratic regime do that? That would be rather silly, wouldn't it?

You might also consider that the German and Belgian governments consist of the socialist and the ecologist parties (in Belgium with the help of the liberal-democrats) and that both of those ideologies have strong pacifist roots. But then again, why should a party live up to his principles? I mean, that would be laughable right?

You could also assume that being an ally doesn't mean you can't critize one another as long the argument stays polite. But once again: isn't de Villepin a sissy with all that polite diplomacy, don't we like the strong (and couragious!) language of Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld better?

Yesterday Wolfowitz said France would have to bear the consequences of their resistance and this morning the American ambassador in Brussels said his government is considering to move NATO headquarters out of Belgium because of their criticism. (there's a thing I don't get: shouldn't that be a decission the treaty makes as a whole and not just the US?) We could do the same thing, we could play "whose economy is going to collapse first" or "let's not pay for the damage your unilateral action has caused", we could, really.

But we won't, because we're still your allies and real friends don't let eachother down when they just had an argument. Or do they?

Zar

It is a sign of the times that it has come to questions like why a nation is "afraid" of war, as if it is not a foregone conclusion. Ideally, everyone should be afraid of it. Why it is seen as merely an issue of getting some backbone is troubling. Should we not be afraid of war? Should we pray for it?

DoubleDutchy

Some are afraid of war, some are not....

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine ?
What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine ?
I learned that war is not so bad
About the great ones we have had
We've been to Germany and to France
And ..one of these days I might get my chance.
That 's what I learned in school today, that 's what I learned in school.

Pete Seeger 1968 (?)

Jesus Tap-Dancin' Christ

And those people are foreigners--something the French don't give a damn about. The FFL has a huge mortality rate over the enlistment period (like 10% over 3 years!), and this is mainly because the French don't give a damn what happens to foreigners.