But we're not petty

YOU ARE VISITING THE OLD MALKIN(S)WATCH. THAT'S FANTASTIC. PLEASE VISIT THE NEW MALKIN(S)WATCH WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE.

Malkin quotes the AP on the French military's humanitarian efforts in Southeast Asia:

The naval ship's pantry is stocked with wines, baguettes and pate, and its casual dress code is shorts and sandals. There's even an artist - a painter to keep an illustrated record of the trip.
With a panache all its own, France's military is delivering aid to tsunami-battered Indonesia - and showing how a small force can make a difference.

Unsurprisingly, she finds this unimpressive at best. She also leaves out a few interesting paragraphs (emphasis added):

Although media attention has focused on the U.S. contribution, particularly by the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group, aid officials say the French and other forces are playing an equally important role.

"(The French) increase our capacity to move loads into some areas where roads have yet to be reconstructed. Trucks cannot reach these areas," said Daniel Augstburger, head of the U.N.'s relief work on Sumatra's western coast.

That responsibility likely will increase once the Americans leave with their three dozen helicopters...

So the French provide something the Americans can't, and plan to stay longer. No wonder Malkin's feeling insecure.

Oh, and about that painter? Malkin doesn't like him. From the safety of Maryland, she writes:

Hat tip to The Baron, who has this to say about the French artist:

A perfectly healthy human coming ashore in the midst of devestation[sic], not with food and medicine, but with a paintbrush. I only hope he chooses a less insulting medium than watercolors.

Touche.

What exactly sets a painter apart from the thousands of reporters and photographers that have swarmed the scene?

Oh, right. He's French.