by DAVID AXE & ROBERT BECKHUSEN

When the United States and its allies invaded Iraq in early 2003, France famously objected—and refused to join the coalition occupying force.

Paris’ objection to the war provoked U.S. Congressman Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, to sponsor a bill requiring the capitol cafeteria to rename french fries as “freedom fries.”

But France only opposed the 2003 Iraq war because, well, it had nothing to do with Islamic militancy and only further destabilized the region, resulting in more terrorism.

In fact, Paris has deployed forces across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa for years—alone and in coalitions—in an escalating global campaign targeting radical Islamists.

On Jan. 7, militants struck back. But that’s unlikely to dissuade the French. Indeed, lately the French have been boosting their military forces striking Islamic State militants in Iraq.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the men who attacked the magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Police identified the suspects as two French brothers in their early thirties—Said and Cherif Kouachi.

The men wore masks and black clothes with tactical vests. They carried AK-type rifles when they assaulted the magazine’s offices, screaming “Allahu Ackbar” and the name of the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda, according to a witness.

The magazine is a satirical product of France’s anti-authoritarian left—somewhat akin to America’s National Lampoon in the 1970s. Two police officers and 10 employees died, including some of France’s most well-known cartoonists and editor Stéphane Charbonnier.

Islamist militants hate Charlie Hebdo. A firebomb burned the publication’s offices in 2011 after it spoofed the Prophet Muhammad. A “wanted” picture of Charbonnier appeared in 2013 edition of Al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine.

Now a bloodbath.

All of this against a satirical magazine that mocks Muhammad with as much irreverence as it does famous novelists, politicians and the Pope.

It’s the bloodiest terrorist attack in France in decades, and the worst in Europe since the July 2011 Norway attacks by right-wing extremist Anders Breivik.

What’s less clear is whether a larger organization gave the terrorists their marching orders. Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq rely on a blend of asymmetric and conventional tactics—including sophisticated command and control systems—to fight on the battlefield.

Worldwide, there’s a looser-knit network of self-motivated sympathizers and affiliates who don’t need Islamic State’s explicit permission to carry out attacks.

French-speaking Islamic State militants know this. In recent months, Islamic State released videos urging French sympathizers to launch attacks at home.

“Operate within France,” foreign fighter Abu Salman Al Faranci said in one such video. “Terrorize them and do not allow them to sleep due to fear and horror.”

The killings will likely harden Paris’ resolve.

France may have sat out the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, but the European state didn’t hesitate to ally with international forces in Afghanistan. French soldiers, police and airmen joined the NATO security force in late 2001—peaking at 4,000—and remained until the end of 2014, when NATO’s combat mission formally ended.

Eighty-eight French troops died in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Paris’ forces worked closely with U.S. troops to defeat the Al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups across Africa. The French base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti houses thousands of French, American and allied soldiers, sailors and airmen plus warplanes and naval vessels.