Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Who whacked Darlan? (II): More evidence on Churchill’s role in it

More than ever, I am persuaded that it was British spec ops who did arranged the assassination of French Admiral Darlan, the former chief of its Navy who became a Vichy leader.

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darlan1

darlan1

More than ever, I am persuaded that it was British spec ops who did arranged the assassination of French Admiral Darlan, the former chief of its Navy who became a Vichy leader. I was just rereading volume three of Churchill’s memoirs of World War II and noticed his description of the admiral as a “dangerous, bitter, ambitious man.”

In warfare, if you think a foe is dangerous, you do something about it.

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Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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