Abandoning France

FRANCE is America's most loyal and long standing ally, having provided the American colonies with the weapons and ammunition necessary to gain their independence from Great Britain. The facat that the assistance was provided more to harm France's ancient enemy Great Britian than to help the fledgling United States does not diminish the importance of the assistance, without which American independence would have been impossible. Had the revolution failed, the consequences would have been dire for the colonists, many of whom, as Benjamin Franklin warned, would have been hanged seperately. During the two world wars of the twentieth century, the United States repaid its debt, ("Lafayette, we are here") partially, if not entirely. As for the joint French-American Viet Nam disaster, in which the Americans replaced the French in trying to retain control of the revolting French colony, call it an even split, two imperial powers tag teaming defeat. However you calculate who owes whom, the United States under Biden was guilty of deceitful and grossly disrespectful treatment of the French. Because the nuclear powered submarine deal between the U.S. and Australia and the South pacific military agreement intending to oppose Chinese domination of the region involving Australia, the U.S., and Great Britain directly affected France, and was carrried out not only in the absence of partiipation but also of involvement by the French, this shabby treatment of a valued ally was inexcusable. The apology delivered by Biden, a presumed expert on foreign relations through long experience in the field may have been sufficient to heal the rift. Talk, as they say, is cheap. Were I the French, I might insist on more substantial compensation. Perhpas a healthy load of nuclear warheads would suffice, or bottomless mugs of Budweiser and Jack Daniels for all French imbibers. Maybe even a few nuclear powered subs delivered to France, or a few billion dolars in trade credit...lest Trump people be tempted to criticize Biden for shabby treatment of our closest ally, to send another violent mob of angry supporters to overthrow the Biden government, and to wistfully wonder what Trump would have done different and better, it would do to recall that Trump indicated his desire to remove the United States from N.A.T.O., claimed that during the Revolutionary War George Washington captured every airport in the thirteen colonies, and incessantly railed agasint our cloesest allies for all manner of imagined offenses, while cozying up to the world's most brutal dictators. So much for Mr. Trump's diplomatic astuteness.