Robert C O'Brien https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._O%27Brien
(1966- ; United States national security advisor (NSA) 2019-2021, preceded by John Bolton; BA in political science from UCLA in 1988 and JD from Berkeley in 1991; "From May 25, 2018 to October 3, 2019, O'Brien[, who was elevated to NSA on Sept 18, 2019,] served as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. He was given the rank of ambassador one year after his appointment. He attended the trial of the American rapper ASAP Rocky in Stockholm, Sweden")
(c) "O'Brien drew a comparison to when Britain chose to destroy France’s storied naval fleet after the country surrendered to Nazi Germany, killing over 1,000 sailors in the process. He recounted how Winston Churchill, a noted Francophile, walked into the House of Commons 'with tears streaming down his face because it was the hardest decision he made in the war,' but received unanimous applause."
(i) French Navy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Navy
(section 3 History, section 3.4 20th century: attack on Mers-el-Kébir [which lasted under 15 minutes and sank just one battleship])
(ii) Aftermath of the Battle of France. Encyclopaedia Britannica, undated https://www.britannica.com/event ... he-Battle-of-France
(section 2 The attack on Mers el-Kebir: "Nearly 1,300 French sailors perished during the attack on Mers el-Kebir, and on July 8[,1940,] Pétain severed diplomatic relations with London. As a retaliatory measure, the French air force bombed British defenses at Gibraltar on July 18 but did little damage. While the sinking of the French fleet represented a breach between two historic allies, it demonstrated to the world—particularly the United States—the lengths to which Britain would go to carry on the fight against Germany")
(iii) Ian Sebire, Force H to Mers-el-Kébir. US Naval Institute: Naval History Magazine, August 2022. https://www.usni.org/magazines/n ... rce-h-mers-el-kebir