Plane: France asks US for help

[Christa]

Paris - France has asked the US military to use its network of spy satellites and listening stations to help find an Air France jet that disappeared over the Atlantic, defence ministry officials said on Monday.

An aide to Defence Minister Herve Morin said he would soon speak with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, to discuss which of the Pentagon's other military assets might be of use in the hunt for the plane.

http://www.news24.com/Content/World/News/1073/269577de45ea40c4b5f9da1ca55c76e2/01-06-2009%2007-06/Plane_France_asks_US_for_help

[peace13]

1. You would think that we would have automatically practiced finding the plane on our own.

What has the world come to? I hope that we can help!

[piedmont]

3. Yep. Seems like that would be a key component of our anti-terrorism system.

I hope we can help, too.

[Lex]

2. I would've thought we'd have offered right away.

nt

[anigbrowl]

4. It's a kind of diplomatic protocol

If you're a country, to say you're busy looking is equivalent to suggesting the other country is incapable. We probably are using our assets to study the situation already, but public protocol is to wait to be asked before volunteering such help, so as not to seem to snub the French military. In the case of natural disasters, where people may need rescuing, then it's more usual to offer aid first as a way of communicating that you have already put the resources in question on standby.

[Ezlivin]

5. It's a good thing that aircraft wasn't lost inside the U.S.

Because the one lesson we all learned on 9/11 is that after an aircraft gets inside this country it is as good as lost. Unless it has its transponder on and talks to ATC, we have no way of knowing where that aircraft might be.