America's fresh new poodle are obeying their master? Nothing new. Sarkozy will be presented with a shiny new medal by Bush. As we speak, Mr Blair is probably polishing his. As a thank you for sacrificing hundreds of soldiers.

jayil, london, uk

i am very surprised to hear that N.A.T.O can not find enough troops to send to Afghanistan and defeat the terrorist Taliban. With 500 million people Europe can not find 60 thousands soldiers to defend Europe from afar.that is very not normal
Every N.A.T.O member must have troops in Afghanistan .If Canada can put 2500 troops so can other countries who have plenty of young man to go and fight. No one is going to do the fighting for us if we do not do it for ourselves. But I have an idea, Why not ask Bosnia and Kosova both to send at least 1000 each to fight terrorism since both countries owe their survival to the N.A.T.O ? Actually any new member must prove first that they are worth having them as members by first sending troops to help the same organization that they want to join fist.
We have become the joke of the world by refusing to fight against a bunch of dirty terrorist who are challenging us in Afghanistan.Fight end be free,or stay at home and suffer terrorism

vespasianus, Paramus n.j, United States

Sarkozy is trying to please his US and British allies expecting the latter to follow him in a European defence force where France would play the first role. The real problem is that France has not money to pay for anything. Sarkozy already told the French people that there was no money left in the cash box to increase their salaries when they complained about the rise in the cost of living.
How do the same French people would accept sending troops to a country where the USSR, with all its military might, was defeated years ago. And how would they accept the continuing presence of their troops in a country where any foreigner in uniform is a good target to kill.
Sarkozy is wrong again and again.

Jconsult, Paris, France

The Brits are the only real men in Europe. Steve Real - without France there wouldn't be a US. I'v always found this slightly ironic. We should ignore people like Steve and forge a new EU-US alliance.

Jon Kingsbury, Southampton, UK

It is quiet funny to read that France would have re-oriented its policy in Afghanistan previously 'restrained' by its public opinion... Only dumbbells -but may be this quality is the most shared on earth- do you know that France has troops in Afghanistan since 2001. The French opinion always supported this political and military move. Why? Because it was simply based on the United Nations legitimity and overall on facts: the terrorist threat was and is still there, not in Irak where it appeared AFTER and not before the US childish invasion -well, not really childish for the US government's friends who made and continue to make billions of $ there on the back of young soldiers...-. So the question is just to choose what wars to do and not to do, and of course why.

Franck, Paris, France

Sarkozy sends the Foreign Legion ( = a bunch of foreign criminals and misfits commanded by French officers) , the poor Afghanis have to adjust to yet another set of blokes who don't know Pashto or Dari - so that too will be for the birds. And are "we" looking for Bin Laden, the Taleban, "Al-qaida" (an abstraction/generic name)? Are "we" trying to secure a military victory (against whom exactly?) or win hearts and minds?
And of course the Afghanis are going to take the money but do their own thing regardless. All "we" will have done is kill lots of innocent civilians from a great height, and create an endless stream of new terrorists in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's a nonsense, and will earn us only contempt from the Afghanis.

Julia Iskandar, London, England

Together with nuclear power making and immigration control exchange this is the latest indication that France is back inside the tent with perhaps a secret promise of sharing the plundered Iraqui oil wealth and more?

But if lessons of the Suez debacle are to be learned even now - caution may be advisable and less enthusiasm or hura speaches of the newly found 'togetherness'.

Nicholas Xenakis, Borough, London, England, Britain

We cant expect the Americans to do everything, Europe has to pull together, increase defence spending and become the military power it could be.
It's Afghanistan today but it could be much closer to home next time.

Patrick Henderson, Coventry,

The Pashtuns (Taleban) have outdated weapons, no communication equipment, no aireal coverage - which all Nato troops rely on to make a deadly strike on the Taleban when the going gets heavy, and essentially not much support from their Pashtun compatriots due to their harsh intepretation of religious laws. The latter may change over time, and then Nato will have overstaid. What they do have is time, and 1000 more Frenchmen wont make the difference to them.

Timur, London,

"She added: “After the Cold War ended, everyone thought we would be able to focus on soft security, but now we find we have to do hard security."
Not everybody! Some of us live in the real world where, unfortunately, some peoples equate being given more freedom to gaining the ability to deny the same freedom to others. Human nature does not change.

Al, weybridge, UQ

With comments from people like Steve Real, is it no wonder no one wants to operate with the US. Arrogance does not forge friendships and alliances. His comments are plain childish.

Richard, Plymouth,

100% agreement with Laurent from Birmigham's statement.
It's not only the french position that have substantially changed these last years, but also the US and British global acknoledgment (in public opinion, media reports,military analyses, as well as political statements) that the war in Iraq was a moral & strategical error, and a military blunder.
Like it or not but the fact is: everything Chirac & C° had warned of happened. In worse.
What country would send troops witha background of so important strategical disagreements as those that have opposed French governments and the Bush&Blair's administrations?
On the basics of its own alleged purposes (intoducing democratic stability in the area) war in Iraq is lost.
The question that remains is : is it not too late not to lose the war in Afghanistan?

Pierre, Paris, France

Bravo Sarkozy

Laila Banuchinsky, Paris, France

Just want to say thank you to France for the additional support! I sure wish the rest of the NAT countrys would ante up their share!

Murph, Madisonville, USA/KY

Mr Real, the French send less troops than US but at least , they are not coming from US jails or looking for a green card!!

Pascal Theveneau, Ardon,

Afghanistan should have been the priority after September 11th. It was an unforgivable mistake by the US and the UK to open a second front before with the help of a real international coalition stabilizing Afghanistan. By going in Irak for motives which are still unclear (no Al Quaida in Irak before the invasion and no arm of mass destruction) the detracted everybody's attention from Afghanistan. The winner are Iran which will now the undisputed control of the region and Al Quaida which with limited resources forces in Irak has forced the US billions). I however support 200% all the troups in Irak and Afghanistan as the troups do the best they can. Shame the people who send them there are grossly incompetent. As for the "Brits are the only men in Europe" because the UK blindly did follow the US in this Iraki trap, it's exactly with this type of basic simplification of problems that the US got trapped and humiliated in Irak.

Laurent Rejoni, BIrmingham, West Midlands

"There are some countries that could do more but one of the reasons why alliance members are not chipping in with troops and equipment for Afghanistan is that they haven’t hardened their helicopters to be able to fight in the desert and they haven’t had counter-insurgency training in the desert.”

Nuland offers this as an excuse? She puts her finger on the very nub of the problem - the almost total lack of seriousness in most European countries re defence matters.

This is one accusation that cannot be levelled at the French, and their new attitude of co-operation is greatly to be welcomed.

John C, Bangkok,

At the end of the day if the French contribute, that is to be applauded. I'm sure the French troops want to get stuck in after having been restrained by past French political and public opinion for so long.

nick, brighton,

The Brits are the only real men in Europe.

What else is there to say?
except thanks
for hanging in there with US

Steve Real, Columbia, USA