the dissident frogman

" C'est le Débarquement! » (" It's the Landing ! »). Cries of joy, freedom is in the air. My dad, a native Parisian was eleven years old and right on Champs-Elysées Avenue to cheer on US soldiers. Like today in Iraq, American soldiers were synonymous to freedom, great big smiles, and free chewing gum. The latter remains vivid in my dad's memory, the sweet minty taste of American freedom along with this indescribable hope and joy in the heart.

Sixty years later, the French chose to distance themselves from their liberator, with some reluctance to fly the US flags over the Champs-Elysées. Arecent survey reveals that 50% of the French public feels that France has no moral debt to the United States.This opinion is shared by 63% of the newer generation (population 18 to 24), and by even 32% of those 65 and older. The study also found that 82% of the French felt that France was sufficiently grateful to the US and that as little as 3% admire the US.

The chief reason America came to liberate France was motivated by selfish economic and strategic interests. That is the thesis believed by at least 41% of the surveyed population (adopted by 63% of the younger generation). This thesis, advanced via a subtle unanswered set of questioning passed off as academic inquiry, was inserted into my malleable young mind in French government school (Lycée, classes de seconde et terminale).

Don't be deceived by our media or by John Kerry's interpretation of the French sentiment towards America. President Bush is not responsible for this French ungratefulness or for its mistrust of America.

We must also factor-in a growing presence of radical Islamic groups in France who hate America for supporting Israel ( Two days ago, another Jew got stabbed by a suburban kid who was yelling 'Allah Akbar'). Maybe as a need to cater to Muslims in France, a French official proposed to give the Arab world nuclear weapons so that they could attack Israel if necessary.

Self-loathing Americans are partly responsible as well. J. Robert Lilly, professor of sociology and criminology at Northern Kentucky U comes to mind. His work prompted French film writer Moreau to capitalize on his allegations and shoot "The Hidden Face of GIs", soldiers who allegedly raped thousands in Europe. Professor Robert Lilly was inspired to examine rape by GIs from stories by his father and uncle, both World War II veterans (reminiscent of Kerry's own allegations in Vietnam). In his book, he contends that GIs raped over 17,000 women; 1,040 in Germany, 3,620 in France, and 2,420 in England.

Obviously history is being rewritten and truth becomes elusive as more than 1,000 World War II veterans die every day with it.

Diplomats' sporadic efforts of reconciliation between France and America won't make a dint against the more recent wave of anti-American propaganda routinely spewed on State-sponsored French TV. A recently aired French documentary viewed by 7 million raised the notion of "contradictory aspects" in their American Liberator (such as ethnic cleansing, lynching, bombings, etc.,(?)) without touching on the newly found freedom from the Nazis. This piece of disinformation and false association simply exposes the personal agenda of its producer, Patrick Rotman. He stated in an interview that hopefully his documentary would serve as a stepping stone in "our reflection on what is being done in Iraq".

We are definitely witnessing shifting alliances. On the one hand, the telling presence of Chancellor Shröder's at the D-Day ceremonies, and on the other, an obvious French departure from the once tutelary power of the United States. Today, 82% of French feel that Germany is France's strongest ally while only 55% feel that the US is a trustworthy ally.

I wish France and America would stay united. But their respective vision of the world has become irreconcilable on too many essential points; France has abandoned its fundamental principles. That's an unfortunate reality.

A.
Ex-French Citizen, Proud and Unapologetic US Citizen By Choice and By Law