OK, so last year after Baghdad fell, the French among others complained that U.S. troops didn’t stop the rioting. This year, the combat boot is on the other foot. This is from an Agence France Presse story from Port-Au-Prince today:

Colonel Daniel Leplatois, the head of French forces, said his contingent could not expected to be everywhere. He told the press conference: “It is not my job to prevent looting. I am here to protect people who are in danger.”

More than a dozen French military trucks were seen moving away from the scene of the looting. Asked about that, Leplatois said: “I have other missions to carry out and I cannot do everything.”