"Going to war without France is like going hunting…

“Going to war without France is like going (deer) hunting without an accordion” is a saying that has been printed on many images. Of course, an accordion is not useful for hunting. “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle” is a similar type of saying.

“But for us, and our real allies, going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. There’s a lot of useless, noisy baggage that we can leave behind” was posted on the newsgroup rec.sport.football.college on January 28, 2003. “‘Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion, you get to leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.’ Jed Babbin, Former US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense during a CBC interview about the IRAQ situation on the National last night” was posted on the newsgroup nf.general on January 30, 2003. “But as we heard a talking head say last week on the MSNBC news show ‘Hardball’: ‘Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind’” was printed in The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) on February 3, 2003.

The word “deer” is now usually excluded in the saying. Jed Babbin made the remark on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chis Matthews on January 30, 2003. He also made the remark a few days earlier, possibly on PBS’ NewsHour.

“Going into battle without the French, is like google duck hunting without an accordion. Nice one stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf” was posted on X/Twitter by Richard Foster on November 7, 2010. “Norman Schwarzkopf said going to war w/o the French was like going hunting without an accordion” was posted on X/Twitter by Jacob Weisberg on March 25, 2011. United States Army General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (1934-2012) usually gets credit for the saying, but if he said it he did not originate it.

Wikipedia: Jed Babbin
Jed Lloyd Babbin (born March 16, 1950) is an American lawyer, writer, and former United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense who served during the first Bush administration. He is the author of the political books Inside the Asylum, Showdown, and In the Words of Our Enemies

Google Groups: rec.sport.football.college
Geopolitickal Questions, Focus on the French
Tom Enright
Jan 28, 2003, 9:17:36 AM
How did the French get on the UN Security Council? The French?
When nobody was looking, or caring, France invaded the Ivory Coast. Where’s the outrage?

“But for us, and our real allies, going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. There’s a lot of useless, noisy baggage that we can leave behind.”

Google Groups: nf.general
Squish
Jan 30, 2003, 9:34:03 AM
Here’s one for ya:
“Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion, you get to leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.”
Jed Babbin
Former US Deputy
Undersecretary of Defense
during a CBC interview about the IRAQ situation on the National last night

Google Groups: alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise
Captain Red Beard
Jan 31, 2003, 1:22:34 AM
To paraphrase somebody else:
The Germans have finally found a war they don’t like, and the French have out-done themselves for surrendering before the fighting begins.

“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordian…”

3 February 2003, The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), “Good Morning Lowcountry,” pg. B2:
But as we heard a talking head say last week on the MSNBC news show “Hardball”: “Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.”

Newspapers.com
3 February 2003, News and Record (Greensboro, NC), pg. A9, col. 1:
“Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.”
Jed Babbin,
former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense,
speaking Thursday night on MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chis Matthews.”

Newspapers.com
4 February 2003, The Tennessean (Nashville, TN), “Letters to the Editor,” pg. 8A, col. 3:
To the Editor:
Someone in Washington finally said something with which I totally agree.
According to Jed Babbin, former deputy undersecretary of Defense, “Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.”
Wayne Dunn
Nashville 37211

Google Groups: alt.basement.graveyard
Quote of the Day
Stumpy
Feb 4, 2003, 7:46:40 AM
“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion”.

Google Groups: alt.fan.don-imus
France, war and accordions
Lucky One
Feb 11, 2003, 6:37:16 PM
(from a Fox viewer)
“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.”

17 Feb 2003. Expositor (Brantford, ON), “George W. Bush is in over his head” by Mike LaPointe, pg. A8:
I read a quote from Donald Rumsfeld in which he stated that going to war without France is like going hunting without your accordion. Maybe he’s right. I’m of French decent, and in spite of the clearly racist connotations of this comment, I take it as a compliment.

Snopes
Jed Babbin Accordian Quote
Who said ‘going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion’?
By David Mikkelson
Published Feb. 19, 2003
(...)
These words were spoken by Jed Babbin, a former deputy undersecretary of defense in the first Bush administration, during a 30 January 2003 appearance on the political talk show Hardball. The full comment (offered during the course of a discussion about differences between U.S. and European policy towards Iraq) was: ” . . . you know frankly, going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind.”

X/Twitter
Ammo Singh #CRO #Measure #LFC #Ecom #Analytics
@AmmO_Singh
Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless, noisy baggage behind.
Jed Babbin,
5:46 AM · Apr 30, 2009

X/Twitter
Richard Foster
@richyfoster
Going into battle without the French, is like google duck hunting without an accordion. Nice one stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf
4:05 PM · Nov 7, 2010

X/Twitter
Jacob Weisberg
@jacobwe
Norman Schwarzkopf said going to war w/o the French was like going hunting without an accordion. We are now hunting with an accordion.
1:45 AM · Mar 25, 2011

X/Twitter
Chadwick McFadyen
@goodchadugly
“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.” -Norman Schwarzkopf #thanksvets #army #navy #usmc #usaf #uscg
8:14 PM · Nov 11, 2012

X/Twitter
Shawn Pasternak
@ShawnCP92
“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.” - Rest In Peace Norman (“Stormin’ Norman”) Schwarzkopf
7:18 PM · Dec 27, 2012

Reddit—Military
browntbdd—April 12, 2023
Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion-Norman Schwarzkopf
Discussion
Jed Babbin said that “going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion.”

I have “discussions” with my wife about this topic

Snopes says:

this quote has been attributed to several other more prominent political and military figures, including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Gulf War commander General Norman Schwarzkopf, and former presidential candidate Ross Perot.

My bride insists that she heard Gen Schwarzkopf state the fishing quote while watching a news channel

I cannot find any footage of this

X/Twitter
Bob Kostic
@causticbob
“Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.”
Norman Schwarzkopf
5:11 PM · Oct 20, 2024