Originally published on September 19, 2003.

We were in France last week. Seven old friends. One more reunion while there's time.

High above the valley, on a hill once marked by trenches and shell holes, stands a monument of 24 mighty columns and two heroic-size figures. Their hands are clasped -- a tribute, the inscription tells us, to the French and American troops who fought here, and a lasting symbol of "the friendship and cooperation" between the two countries.

France and America have been allies for a long time now. The sentiment runs deep, despite differences over Iraq today.

Last week, even the Financial Times threw up its hands in despair at Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice.

Don't they know, the paper asked, that "alone the US is far more vulnerable than it likes to believe, while in concert with free nations, it is far more powerful than even it can imagine."

This is something to think about on the battlefields of France. You think about the times we've helped each other, and how we still need each other to confront global terrorism. So you want to celebrate our ties, and nurture them. And that's what we did.