In 2003, no country cried louder than France when it came to the issue of the war in Iraq. France was so virulently opposed to the war you would have assumed Jacques Chirac and Saddam Hussein were kissing cousins. France went out of its way to protect Saddam and Iraq from an eminent US and coalition invasion. So what has been France’s reward for standing up for the forces of radical Islam? France is now seen as vacillating and weak and therefore a prime and easy target for Islamic radicals.

Appeasement, as we have seen time and time again throughout history only emboldens an aggressor. Aggressors do not respect weakness, it is simply regarded as an opportunity to exploit a weaker player and bring about a desired outcome. Witness Hitler after the betrayal at Munich in 1938, “this is my last territorial demand in Europe,” the German dictator exclaimed and less than a 6 months later Hitler marched into Czechoslovakia and then the rest of Europe. Only a few years earlier Hitler had watched as Mussolini carved up Ethiopia and Albania without so much as a whimper from the appeasement minded League of Nations.

Today, we see that the lessons of appeasement have yet to be embraced by some. France and other European nations like Italy and Spain who have demonstrated such weakness and cowardice in the face of radical Islam find themselves easy prey. Only a few weeks ago, Islamic youth were rioting in the streets of Paris and other French cities and what was the French government’s response? Promises of more assistance, more welfare programs and more dialogue. The message to radical is clear: make a nuisance of your self, cause chaos and mayhem and reap the rewards. Now reports from France indicate an Islamic Terror Network operating in the country was planning major attacks. This is a country that went out of its way to appease radical Islam. Yes indeed a lesson has been learned, unfortunately, the lesson has been learned by the terrorists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4520862.stm