Hello from Paris everybody I'm Ushis the High, the Managing Editor of Four on the Rocks, and I'm here with a very, very special guest. Bruno, do you want to introduce yourself?

Yes, I'm the very special special guest. This is Bruno Tertre.

The deputy director of the Foundation

for strategic research in Paris. So we are here to discuss a very timely event

that it only took place a couple of days ago involving of course

French foreign policy and American foreign policy and that is the strikes on

Syria in response to chemical attacks used by the regime there earlier this

month.

So Bruno, you have argued that in some ways these strikes were many years in the making.

Going back to going back to the chaotic events of 2013.

Can you tell us a little bit about that

and about the arguments you made in your recent paper?

Yeah, I think you have to bear in mind

how frustrated and even furious and angry the French were in late August 2013 when

President Obama ended up not striking Syria. This was a shock. You can use that word.

This was a real shock to the French and a watershed moment in the French-American relations.

Basically, the French had been extremely active in promoting the idea that you know you cannot let

chemical weapons use in Syria without reacting. They were absolutely persuaded that Obama would go long.

So literally the planes were going,

the planes were on the runway

and the tankers were in the air and

all the French President of Francois Hollande at the time was completely stunned

...