France Running Short of Commandos

October 19, 2006: French special operations troops appear to be overcommitted, so  200 French  commandos are being pulled from Afghanistan, where they have been since 2003, looking for terrorist leaders. France has already got a lot of operators operating across Africa. Apparently France is building up their special operations capability in Djibouti, possibly in anticipation of problems in Eritrea and Somalia, both of which are involved in disputes with Ethiopia. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad is pretty lucrative for Djibouti and France, and fighting between Ethiopia and either of its neighbors could create problems there. American Special Forces in Djibouti have a base near the main French one. It's pretty easy to spot on Google Earth.