The escalating war in Afghanistan has been rising up the international
agenda in parallel with evidence of the Taliban's increased
sophistication and effectiveness. Paul Rogers has been tracking
the conflict on openDemocracy since it began in October 2001, while
writers such as Antonio Giustozzi have noted
the Taliban's capacity for reinvention - as well as the movement's
reliance on material support and recruits from across the porous border
with Pakistan.
But while most of the media coverage in the
English-speaking world focuses on the American and British military
contingents in Afghanistan, there is less attention to other national
forces and how the casualties they face may influence public opinion at
home. This makes Patrice de Beer's survey
of France's experience all the more valuable. Amid the shock of losing
ten soldiers in a single operation there is awareness that Nicolas
Sarkozy's reorientation of France's international profile towards the
United States implies more active international engagement. Patrice de
Beer asks whether it is worth the price; and whether France in any case
can afford to pay it.
