Sarko Est Très Stupide En Obama!

Remember back when Nicolas Sarkozy took over in France while Dubya was still president, and gosh, so many people were happy that that boring, stodgy Jacques Chirac was gone, and Former President Brainless went out of his way to be “buds” with the new guy?

And remember how Sarkozy was supposedly so much better even though he still stiffed us on sending troops to Iraq, as noted here (and no, I never agreed with the war either, but I’m talking about “sharing the pain” of the brave men and women of our military, which is and always will be an entirely separate issue from how we feel about the politicians who put them there).

Well, I’m not sure exactly what spurred this on, but “Sarko” just laid a first-class hissy fit on just about every world leader but himself of course, including President Obama, about whom he said…

On the US President, Mr. Sarkozy said: "Obama has a subtle mind, very clever and very charismatic. But he was elected two months ago and had never run a ministry. There are a certain number of things on which he has no position. And he is not always up to standard on decision-making and efficiency," he said.

The US President had underperformed on climate change, said Mr. Sarkozy: "I told him: 'I don't think that you have quite understood what we are doing on carbon dioxide'."

In another swipe at the American leader, Mr. Sarkozy was quoted today making a dubious joke about the Obamania sweeping the European media. According to L'Express news magazine, Mr. Sarkozy talked to another set of visitors about Mr. Obama's planned visit to the Normandy beaches in June, Mr. Sarkozy said: "I am going to ask him to walk on the Channel and he'll do it, you'll see."

What a pipsqueak – as noted here…

France currently has about 1,600 troops in Afghanistan (see update below) as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), most of them deployed around the capital Kabul. In the wake of 9/11, France offered its military resources and capabilities to support the US-led military campaign, Operation Enduring Freedom. French fighter aircraft regularly offer close air support to ISAF ground troops.

France participates in the operational training of the Afghan National Army. In eastern Afghanistan, France deployed four teams of special French Military instructors (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams, OMLT), each consisting of 50 soldiers inserted into units of the Afghan army. France has also sent more combat aircraft to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. Last month, two multi-purpose Rafale fighter jets returned to Kandahar Air Base to support ISAF troops against insurgents.

At the NATO defence ministers’ meeting, French Defence Minister Hervé Morin confirmed that Paris is considering a greater role in Afghanistan. He declined to give details but suggested that President Sarkozy could announce a change in French policy at an April NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met for the first time in Paris with Sarkozy on February 1. Scheffer told a press conference: “I can’t say that [Sarkozy] gave me definite assurances, but the impression I had after the talks...and the indications I received suggest that France might well take on more responsibilities in Afghanistan, but of course it’s the French government’s decision.”

(Actually, this more recently updated article tells us that France now has about 2,780 troops in that region – better, but a long way from our force numbers.)

The WSWS story also tells us that Sarko took over as EU president last July under an agreement where European leaders “rotated” every six months in and out of the job (the minister of the Czech Republic, Karel Schwarzenberg, is in charge at the moment according to this Wikipedia article).

That’s important to note because nobody “rotates” in and out of the job of President of the United States, Sarko, assuming that's the reason why you feel full of yourself, claiming some "statesemanship" mantle you haven't earned (concerning this country, you could go back and read about how Grover Cleveland was the only president to "rotate" in and out of the job, but that’s really a stretch I know).

And another thing – this story tells us that, rightly or wrongly, Obama has committed 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

How many more has the entire continent of Europe committed? About 5,000 according to this story.

Say goodnight, Sarko.