During the leadup to the invasion of Iraq, villification of France was rising in the United States. The French were regularly denounced by conservative pundits, Congress changed "french fries" to "freedom fries" in its cafeteria menu, there were impromtu boycotts of French wine, and so forth. I'm sure we all remember it pretty well.
What if, at this very moment of Francophobic nonsense in the United States, CNN and the BBC announce to a shocked world that French special forces in Afghanistan have captured Osama bin Laden?