I agree with bweezy on this one. Although I do have to bring up another point of interest...

Remember in the early days of the Iraq war, when France did not support Bush going into Iraq, and in retaliation, something to the effect of "Freedom Fries" was born? I don't want to offend anyone, but really, "freedom fries"? Sorry, that's just silly... :D

Jay Nordlinger recently put this in his column:

"An officer in the U.S. Naval reserve was attending a conference that included admirals from both the U.S. Navy and the French Navy. At a cocktail reception, he found himself in a small group that included personnel from both navies. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans learned only English. He then asked: 'Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than you speak French?' Without hesitating, the American admiral replied: 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you would not have to speak German.' The group became silent."

Awesome.

-Dunefish

Love quotes like that. They seem to crystialize the heart of the issue in just a few words.

Reminds me of this Lincoln quote: "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally".

On the one hand, that quote is funny. It's fun to pick on the French:

"Q. Why are the highways leading into Paris lined with trees?
A. So that the German Soldiers can march in the shade"

Having said that, and recognizing the humour, I do think it is always best if you send dignataries to international functions who have a knowledge of another language being used by the people at that function. Would it have hurt America to send a military officer with some knowledge of French so that he or she could have communicated with the French in their own language, even informally?

You'd be surprised how appreciative people are when you make an effort to speak to them in their own language, even if it is a very rudimentary effort. If improving international relations is the game, an easy way to do that is to speak the language of the other nations at your meeting.

Really, in international relations, smug comments like the one that Dunefish relayed to us, while funny, end up doing more harm than good. I always believe that the olive branch is a tool that is very effective in making positive relationships.

Hilarious, I'm on the west coast so almost everyone I know makes fun of the french :D

I am on the east coast, and almost everyone I know makes fun of people on the west coast. The point being.....? I forget... :P

I have yet to see anyone sum the world up better than Steven Stills.

"Nobody's right if everybody's wrong."

CSN ROX!!! :clapping:
and so does CSN and Y :clapping: