France ends final Afghan combat mission
http://www.france24.com/en/20121120-france-afghanistan-combat-mission-part-early-withdrawal-natoFrance ended its last combat mission in Afghanistan on Tuesday, withdrawing troops from a strategic province northeast of Kabul as part of an accelerated departure from the war-torn country.
Paris has said all French combat soldiers will leave next month, two years before allied nations contributing to the 100,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the United States are due to depart.
Around 1,500 French soldiers will stay into 2013 to take responsibility for repatriating equipment and training the Afghan army to take over when all NATO combat troops leave in 2014.
France joined the NATO coalition in late 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States to topple the Taliban which had given refuge to Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network.
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But I can understand it. My youngest is in the most advanced Spanish class in her high school and she's the only non-native speaker. She's one of the best students. It's her fifth year of Spanish.
I recently had an encounter with a young Spanish woman with a baby holding a simple cardboard sign asking for help to support her family. I knew what she was saying but couldn't find the right words to reply. I gave her a $20 spot and she kissed my hand.
When I came out of the hardware store, a cop was giving her shit for "begging" (she did NOT in any way "beg" . I got in his face and he let her go. She kissed my hand again and took off. I called the chief of the department and complained about the way that officer treated her.
You don't stand out in 30 degree weather with a child to beg for a buck or two unless you need it that badly. I couldn't afford dropping her a $20, but she needed it more than I did. While I can't speak Spanish, I can at least hear it and understand it. The cop couldn't. What really toasted my nuts was when he said, "If you can't speak English you need to leave." We're all immigrants, at least by heritage. I'm sick of that shit. And yes, I'll fight it.
Sorry to rant. It still toasts my nuts. We're all human. Fuck bigots. Fuck bigots. Fuck bigots. Sorry. I'm just still pissed about that.
Will we ever become one people?
