Is Afghanistan the only country in the world?

France is deploying its troops to Afghanistan. French Defense Minister Alain Richard declared today that this issue has already been decided on and the troops will be deployed to Afghanistan within the next several days. What is France looking for in Afghanistan or what it forgot there has not been specified

On the whole, the deployment of French troops to Afghanistan looks rather strabge, taking into account the the fact that the country now has its legal President Rabbani, the biggest part of its territory is controlled by the Northern Alliance, and the remaining part will soon be under the control of the anti-Taliban coalition. Therefore, it seems like this is an intervention.

France is the third European country interested in Afghanistan, one way or another, after the USA and Great Britain. German Chancellor Schroeder even claimed he would resign if German troops were not going to be dispatched to the country that is seized with war. Now, France is going there. The most interesting thing is that both Britain and Germany considered the opportunity to deploy their troops in Afghanistan before the successful offensive of the Northern Alliance.

Who is France going to fight with in the up-to-date Afghanistan? Or will it perform any other function than fighting? There is definitely something strange going around Afghanistan. There are too many countries wishing to have their troops there without a good reason why.

AP photo: French President Jacques Chirac, foreground left, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, center, and French Defense Minister Alain Richard