Delusional Reality

Kofi Annan has triumphantly proclaimed that Europe will provide the backbone of the peacekeeping force.

"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," Annan said. "We can now begin to put together a credible force."




The commitment of up to 6,900 European soldiers relieved concerns that the peacekeeping force might be stillborn because of reluctance by many countries to send troops into the Middle East cauldron without clear instructions or authorization to use their weapons.

Back when France was bleating for a ceasefire, it was thought that they would provide a sizable amount of soldiers to contribute to the "peacekeeping" efforts. But of course, they predictably backpedaled on their words, and the final tally for France : 400 soldiers.


Pathetic, huh?


I know, I know, it's France. They've never done anything, and probably never will. The land of wine, and cheese, and softbellied bureaucrats blabbering meaningless words to whomever will listen. But even this kind of cowardice was astonishing for it's simple indifference. They didn't even care how bad it looked.


This is the kind of stuff that makes me worried about the state of the world. But back to the story:


So according to the open mouth of the AP, who have been slobbering and drooling, hoping to dress this up somehow as a victory, this is it. The beginning. The "backbone", a word you will most likely hear overused in the days to come, in a triumphant tone, heralding the courage of the European nations in summoning their peacekeeping efforts in assembling this truly puny force.


Okay.


So, let me ask this.


By my calculations, we still need 8,100 soldiers. What if the Ukraine, or Turkey, or any other non-European country contributed more soldiers than the "backbone" the European nations are so generously providing?


Would that mean we have 2 "backbones"?


Or just a "backbone" with a few larger bones?


Reason is, you'd think a "backbone" would at least be more than 50% of the "body" you're attempting to build. I mean, they couldn't even muster 7,500 soldiers and Kofi is still gloriously touting this as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Man, am I glad an ocean separates us.


Whatever. France sucks. We all know it. This ceasefire is a disaster. Anything after it is just the aftershow...