Yeah, so I think we all know that while France is a member of NATO, they haven't committed any troops to that mission since De Gaulle was president. We all know this, right? You didn't? Well, that's what the deal is. However, ever since Sarkozy was elected president, France has been toying with the idea of supplying troops to NATO again. Apparently, however, they're concerned with how NATO is run.

Their concerns have nothing to do with the possibility of their troops being sent out to, say, Afghanistan, unlike their neighbors the Germans. No, their concerns have to do with NATO's bureaucracy---and how unwieldy and bloated it is.

France, which is studying a possible reintegration into NATO military structures, called on Saturday for faster moves to reform the 26-nation body's labyrinthine internal structures and budgets.

Defense Minister Herve Morin told a security conference in Munich that NATO had a 2 billion euro (US$2.90 billion) annual budget and a staff of 22,000 full-time employees, the equivalent of one for every three alliance troops currently on missions.

"It has nearly 320 committees or sub-committees, with some carrying the name of 'committee on the challenges of modern society' or the 'food and agriculture committee'!" Morin said.

Who would have ever guessed that France (FRANCE!!!) could (or even would) be so concerned with the size of a bureaucracy that they might rule out reinvolving themselves because they judged it to be so out of control?

This is shocking.

It's on par with some scientist announcing that, indeed, cats and dogs don't really hate each other.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:26 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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