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French Military Superiority"General? There's... someone to see you.""Do they have an appointment?" "No, sir. But she says you'll be interested." "Who is she?" "She says to say that she's French." "Send her in, and take the rest of the day off." "Thank you, sir!" They couldn't compete. We had the better weapons, better strategies, better leaders, better everything. They didn't have a chance. "Come in, take a seat. Can I get you something? I have some wine that I was keeping for a special occasion." "Thank you, General. You honor me." "Not at all, madam. Here you are." "Ah, a Bordeaux! An... '81, I believe. Very nice." "You are correct, of course. You speak fluently, for a Frenchwoman." "Well, I have put some effort into learning your language. It is an asset in my profession. It puts people at ease." Still, I can't help thinking we forgot something. "I had heard rumors. So they are true?" "Oh, yes. We were selected quite carefully. It is quite a competition. We went through elaborate training, once selected, all designed to bring us to the very top of our professions." "So... why have you come to me?" "You control the troop movements in asia, yes?" "That is correct." "Take a look at this map. You are moving troops from here to here." "That is also correct. You have excellent sources of information." "I have come to ask you to divert them through this area here for a time." "Why?" "It isn't important that you know." "Then where's my incentive?" "You know perfectly well where your incentive is." Something small. Something the French do better than we. "Well then, I..." "Try a sample before you decide." We did conquer them. I know we did. "So? Your decision?" "And I will... "Have more access, as long as you continue to do the small things we request." "I... oh... very well." "Excellent, darling! I can see that I'm going to enjoy this job." Where did we go wrong?
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