Israel is often accused of killing civilians, even when it is obviously only collateral damage. Hamas sends rockets specifically targeting civlians. Moral equivalence? Come off it.

When Israeli civilians die, especially women and children, and most especially pregnant women and babies, Arabs pour out into the street in celebration, hugging each other, firing guns in the air and distributing sweets. Ever see Israelis do that? I haven’t. Ever wonder why?

Nobody connected to Israel had anything to do with the 9/11 murders. Does that tell you anything?

This misstep almost identically parallel’s Israel inability to come to terms that they will have to allow Palestine to rise from the ashes. Had Israel cut a deal with the secular PLO in the 90’s, Tel-Aviv would have a pliant, manageable mini-version of the neighboring corrupt “moderate” arab states. But rather Israel chose to vacillate and know they must deal with Religious nutters(both inside and out). Should Israel squander the chance to cut a deal with Hamas and bring them out of the orbit of Teheran-Damacus-Beirut-Baghdad alignment then it is safe to say the Israeli experiment is over. A nuclear Iran will never have to use the bomb in anger to destroy Israel; demographics and migration to Europe, America and Australia will make Israel disappear with a whimper not a bang. Is it not ironic? A gifted and talented people like the Jews are cursed, cursed with a biblical disease: really sucky leadership.

You miss the main point in that, despite a hard fought campaign the French still ended up having to leave and left to their own devices the Algerians still made a mess of their country. Now THAT is what is really similar to Iraq. Any other population on earth would have taken the gift they were given and made a working society. Arabs, because they have no tradition of working for themselves and are tied to a useless religion will fail every time.

No matter what we do.

Plus you ignore the fact that Algeria was French Territory and was a department of France. The French were fighting to retain what was theirs. Iraq on the other hand was an unprovoked invasion of an already established nation to change its government-and then once begun was badly bungled in the follow through.

In one regard France and the US are alike-their involvement in wars overseas, cost them dearly at home and forever after hampered their ability to achieve things on a level that they could have achieved had they not fought the conflicts.

You also ignored one major factor too, by 1961 the French people were sick of the whole thing-the clock had run out on French patience, just like the clock has run out on American patience with the misadventure in Iraq.