Friday, April 4, 2014

Dumb Lede Du Jour

How do they say du jour in Danish?

I ask because this story's headline is dumb on stilts.  Denmark is leaving Afghanistan early?  Yes, its troops are coming home earlier than planned but summer of 2014 is not early compared to nearly everyone else.

The Dutch withdrew from combat in 2010, the Canadians withdrew from combat in 2011. These folks were the early departers.  A quick look at the NATO placemat that
  • New Zealand has essentially left (2 out of previous commitment of 200--and an active 200 they were--see the book's chapter seven).
  • France is down to 200 or so, and that will be zero soon enough.
  • Australia is similar, down significantly and out soon.
Anyhow, I get uppity when folks say bad things about the Danish in particular since they sacrificed more than any other country, pretty much, if one factors in the size of the country's population or the size of the contingent.

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