Libya strikes showcase French warplane http://euobserver.com/9/32083

Many commentators believe the Libya air strikes are a pre-election advert for President Nicolas Sarkozy. Some believe they are also an advert for France's badly-selling Rafale jet fighter. Several EU diplomats and even one foreign minister speaking off the record in Brussels in the run-up to the Libya campaign pointed to next year's French presidential elections as a big reason for Sarkozy's enthusiasm to take on Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.But looking in detail at French operations in Libya, military analysts have also said that France is using the war to promote its badly-selling €60-million-per-unit Rafale fighter."The French intervention is, among other things, aimed at putting the Rafale under the spotlight," he said. "For sure, the French air force was confident that Benghazi was free of SAM [surface-to-air-missile] sites, but I think it was mainly a demo."

[WITH ALL DUE RESPECT MR JAMES PETRAS,I DO AGREE WITH YOU ON MUCH BUT ECONOMIC INTERESTS PLAY A HUGE PART,REGARDLESS OF OVERALL EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES TO NATIONAL INTEREST OF THE COALITION NATION INVOLVED IN LIBYA ASSAULT.WHAT RULES IS PRIVATE INTERESTS...THEY COULD CARE ELSS EVENTUALLY HOW MUCH DAMAGE IT CAUSES THEIR OWN ECONOMIES...