This article reminds me of a famous National Lampoon magazine cover.
There are lessons here: Don't sell anything you wouldn't want shooting at you. In the international arena, there are no friends and few allies but mainly countries with temporary comity of interests. And maybe, don't trust the French.
Libya Boosts Euro Fighter Jets at Paris Air Show
LE BOURGET, France - In the war in Libya, the French Rafale fighter jet has nearly done it all: no-fly zone enforcement, air-to-ground strikes, reconnaissance, overflight missions....
In 2007, the French bungled talks with Morocco, which instead opted to buy an F-16 from Lockheed Martin Corp. The same year, Gadhafi himself began exclusive talks with France to purchase 14 Rafales - the same type of jet now hitting his military assets with laser- and GPS-guided bombs.
That sale was still pending when the Arab spring swept through Libya, prompting Gadhafi's forces to crack down on democracy-minded protesters and leading to international sanctions against his regime and an U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone and measures to protect Libyan civilians.
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