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Why France Can't Fight
(Wall Street Journal Europe) Editorial - The French armed forces field sophisticated fighter jets, nuclear submarines, attack helicopters and armored vehicles. The country spent $52 billion last year on defense, which is more than twice what South Korea, Turkey and Israel spend. Yet in its commendable efforts to fight terrorists in Mali, Paris is all but begging for logistical and military support. Independently deploying a brigade-sized force to a country a mere five hours flight-time away is proving a bridge too far. On paper France has 230,000 men and women in uniform, but only 30,000 are deployable on six months notice.