French President Sarkozy visits Afghanistan

During his visit, he met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US General Dan McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). He also met with some of the 1,600 French troops deployed in the capital, Kabul, and its surrounding areas.

After talks with Karzai, Sarkozy said, “What’s at stake is a war, a war against terrorism, which we cannot and must not lose.” He stressed the importance of the “strength of agreements between allies” and the need to present a “united front” to prevent Afghanistan from “becoming a terrorist state.”

Sarkozy’s visit reaffirms his political support for the US-led occupation of Afghanistan, which is generally seen within the French ruling elite as necessary for the advancement of France’s imperialist interests in Central Asia.