Sahara
Borders unless enforced by states, are mere lines on a map. Al Arabiya reports “Islamist militants attacked a gas field in Algeria on Wednesday, claiming to have kidnapped up to 41 Westerners including seven Americans in a dawn raid in retaliation for France’s military intervention in Mali, according to regional media reports. ” The War in Mali had crossed over.
The 41 hostages come from 9 or 10 different countries, according to various news outlets, including Americans, French, British, Japanese, Norwegian and Irish.
The international character of things was emphasized as Nigeria began to send troops to join the French operation in Mali. Nigeria’s army is itself stretched containing the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency to its North. “Many Nigerians inside the government have maintained that Boko Haram has links with international jihad networks, especially al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), one of the leading elements among Mali’s Islamic insurgency. ”
According to the Washington Post, France has requested US help in providing targeting data and airlift capacity to support its operation.
The official was not specific about whether the surveillance being shared with France comes from drones or from satellites.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “They’ve asked for support with airlift. They’ve asked for support with aerial refueling. We are already providing information, and we are looking hard today at the airlift question, helping them transport forces from France and from the area into the theater, and also at the refueling question.”
Wasn’t it supposed to be the case that “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive?”.
Where exactly the US was providing transportation for the French into was described by Anouar Boukhars, a Moroccan academic writing in the New York Times. He basically says the French are being ferried at jet speeds into what amounts to a powderkeg.
The fragile states of the Sahara and just below the desert pose significant challenges — not just for the United States and Europe, but also for the North African states themselves. The sources of their instability and conflict are complex and deeply rooted. Internally, they include institutional weakness and corruption, endemic poverty, sociopolitical tensions, unaddressed identity-based grievances, legacies of past abuses, and religious radicalization. External stresses include transnational organized crime and terrorism, weapons proliferation, foreign meddling, cross-border conflict spillover, and global economic shocks.
Nations in this region are ill equipped to deal with these problems. In fact, in most countries of the Sahel (the belt across Africa, just south of the desert), local governments have exacerbated conflict, either through inept responses or, in some cases, active collusion with criminal networks, Islamist militants, or ethnic dissidents…
Algeria is distrustful of its neighbors, especially the so-called pro-French axis, led by Morocco and the weaker states of the Sahel … If Algeria refuses to engage in the conflict in Mali, then the international community must look for leadership in Morocco, the other North African heavyweight directly affected by the chaos in the Sahel.
The key phrase is “not just for the United States and Europe, but also for the North African states themselves”. Suddenly America is supposed to have a vital interest in the Sahara. If you were wondering: “what does America have to do with Timbuktu”. The answer is “everything”. The world is built around the assumption that the USN will keep the seas free, the USAF will keep the air clear and the Fed will keep banks sound. The Sahara is connected to North Africa. North Africa is connected to France. France is connected to Europe, Europe to the Atlantic and the Atlantic borders on Norfolk, Virginia. See?
National Geographic had an evocative piece in December 2012 which explains the implicit emotional belief behind this. Its Africa correspondent writes about the night Obama was elected in 2008:
On the November night in 2008 when the United States elected Barack Obama President, I listened to the coverage on a transistor radio on a rooftop in Timbuktu….
As we sat on the roof, I asked Issaka and Mohammed why people in Timbuktu were so excited by Obama. Did they think he would somehow spur development here? Issaka shook his head as if I were dense. “We are excited because it shows the world that America really believes what it says it believes,” he said.
“Even a black-skinned man can be the President. If that is truly possible in America, it makes us ask what is possible in Mali, even in Timbuktu?” Mohammed nodded enthusiastically. …
Trash was piled in pits dug seemingly at random, and the skeletons of large diesel trucks lay half buried in sand drifts, like beasts of burden that had finally collapsed under the desert’s oppressive heat. And yet, even after centuries of decline from its zenith as a wealthy trading hub, Timbuktu in 2008 seemed to be verging on a renaissance of sorts….
Someone was going to take care of Africa. Cart the truck wreckage away. Pick up the trash. And indeed somebody was working in Africa, except in the wrong way.
In February 2011, when the Arab Spring came to Libya, Qaddafi deployed these Tuareg units, first against unarmed protestors and then against the subsequent armed uprising. As his regime disintegrated, thousands of Tuareg, fearful of a backlash, began returning to northern Mali and Niger, putting immense pressure on already impoverished communities. As they left, many Tuareg fighters were able to smuggle weapons out of Libya’s well-stocked armories….
When I saw him in 2011, Hamdoon said he was very worried about what was coming. We met in a hotel just outside Timbuktu’s city limits. Almost no foreigners dared come to the north these days, and its French owner had abandoned the hotel. We sat on chaise lounges next to an empty swimming pool. “You will see, the war is coming to Mali next,” he said gravely.
Hamdoon was right. Obama’s election was a portent of something. It simply wasn’t what he expected.
Last month, on Election Day in the U.S., I called Issaka, who himself had relocated to Bamako. He described how the capital, swollen with refugees from the north, remains tense with uncertainty and rife with rumors.
I reminded him of how Obama’s election had stirred jubilance among Timbuktu residents four years before. He laughed. “That was a long time ago.” But then in a wistful voice added, “We need Obama now more than ever.”
The question is: why should they need Obama more than ever? So he can pull another Libya? So he can work some more of his magic? Hamdoon and Issaka need to get touch with Alan Dershowitz, Ed Koch and Noam Chomsky to form a club. While these individuals may be worlds apart they have a mindset in common: the belief that someone is going to “fix it”.
Nobody’s going to fix it. It doesn’t work that way any more. The old institutions are failing; and what their replacements shall be is not yet evident. Maybe we ought to stop worrying about “too big to fail”. It’s failed already.
The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99
Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99
No Way In at Amazon Kindle $8.95, print $9.99
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“We need Obama now more than ever.”
The question is: why?
Why? So that he can issue an executive order to stop bad people from doing bad things!!
Silly goose…
So, as things fall apart swimmingly, and the gyre ever widens, at what point are the self-deluded forced to see the disasters this administration has sometimes initiated, and sometimes helped along with its bungling?
(This assumes it is bungling, and not some sort of intentional plan. CUE Heath Ledger’s Joker Laugh…)
I have an almost hypnotized sense of wonder watching events unfold and how the dots remain unconnected up until the point they cannot possibly be left unlinked, and even THEN, they are mis-drawn to create an entirely different picture than what the numbers demand.
At some point, though, things have to become so unbelievably obvious that even the New York Times and others can’t deny it. Right? RIGHT?
No, I guess not. The more I see the more I believe Orwell was not so much a terrific writer, but more a modern day prophet. The stupefying lengths to which Big Brother manipulated the truth and reality seemed like science fiction to those in the West, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to live fully in its sway.
Not yet.
Not until now.
What’s so astounding is we’re seeing the Ministry of Truth operate successfully, even when we still have so much freedom to refute it unlike the society Winston lived in.
“You are mentally deranged. You suffer from a defective memory. You are unable to remember real events, and you persuade yourself that you remember other events which never happened. Fortunately it is curable. You have never cured yourself of it, because you did not choose to. There was a small effort of the will that you were not ready to make. Even now, I am well aware, you are clinging to your disease under the impression that it is a virtue. Now we will take an example. At this moment, which power is Oceania at war with?’”
Oh, NOW I understand the real need for Obamacare…
Obama can simply declare Mali a “gun-free” zone by executive order, require background checks for the armed Tuoreg, pass amnesty for the undocumented freedom fighters crossing the border, limit each person to 10 rubber bullets by the stroke of his pen, and tax Hamdoon, Issaka and Mohammed for Obamacare. That will “fix it”.
Look, an African squirrel!
Somebody give Harry Reid a pith helmet and send him to Mali to look for a budget.
I had to laugh at Marie-Claude in the last thread quoting some silly Greek: The battle of France in Mali is a battle for Europe, Hellenic, Roman and Christian!
Meanwhile in France itself the Mayor of Strasbourg says “We serve halal meat respect for diversity, but no fish on Friday out of respect for secularism.” Eating halal, which is compulsory to Muslims, is somehow a celebration of diversity but Catholics adhering to their faith by refusing to eat it on Friday are enemies of diversity! Secularism is good when it’s against Christians, bad when Muslims are the target.
The battle for Europe and Western civilization will not be fought in Africa, but in Europe itself. When it does Francois Holland and his socialists will be on the other side.
Woah, algeria is going to side France
http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/2013/01/17/alger-change-son-fusil-d-epaule
finally the end of the franco-algerian war
5. Jules
didn’t you know that Alsace is autonome since it became French as far as implementing its domestic rules?
Meanwhile Strasburg is the city that has one of our biggest jewish community, halal, Kasher… it’s the same way to kill animals
Even now I wonder if Hollande (and France in general) realize that they’ve got to go all-in on this thing or else they’re going to lose.
The scary part is that they may lose even if they DO go all-in. Dien bien phu, indeed.
Because in an odd sort of way it’s politically easier for the French to fight radical islamist in Mali than it is to find a way to legally deport known radical islamists now residing in France.
The old saw that “there’s no fool like an old fool” may have finally been superseded by the utter foolishness of liberals. It sets a standard that would be almost impossible to exceed. ‘To Stupid to Live’ is one of nature’s categories.
France is inadvertently accelerating the radicalization of its Muslim immigrant population. Is there any doubt, of the general tenor in France’s Mosques, in the Imam’s Friday sermons?
Obama will look at extending assistance to France in the Chicago way, France owes him now. Though he will find the frogs quickly forgetful and as always, remarkably ungrateful. After all, they invented the entitlement state.
Nor is there much doubt that all of North Africa will be falling to the radical jihadists. The historical dynamic is unmistakable. From the Straits of Gibraltar all the way to Pakistan, the Caliphate in all but name begins to form out of the mist we call the present. 5 years after Iran gets the bomb, it will be undeniable and considered an obvious development.
gb @ 10: 5 years after Iran gets the bomb, it will be undeniable and considered an obvious development.
Five years after Iran gets the bomb, you’ll be able to roller skate from Gibraltar to Hormuz on a sheet of green glass.
10. Geoffrey Britain
you have no idea of what you’re talking about, the french Muslims don’t endorse the AQ agenda.
It may happen that from time to time there’s a nut in search of fame, that tries to make the topic in the actualities, so far it’s not often, they know what end is for them, death ! Also, a new law criminalises those that would have the velleity to train in Pakistan and or Afghanistan, where these receive their indoctrinment !
Talk more of Britain and or Germany who still allow free ride for such candidates to terrorism
The M-3 trundled up the rise
Sand crushed beneath each straining track
Until, at last, the crest was reached
And there, before them, dressed in black
Stretched lines of men all dressed in robes
Upon their backs AKs they bore
And seeing them, said Sergeant Gunn
You know, I think it’s the wrong war
8. wws
you’re too impressed by your Viet Nam experience
One thing is sure, gigantic means aren’t a insurance for winning a war. More is necessary, knowledge on how the populations react is one other important factor. Smelling the enemy, knowing his habits… can be done if you aren’t afraid to live among these people
This turning into the continuation of the Algerian civil war-that was a vicious and brutal civil war with many 100,000s killed.
The French interest is clear as there 1000s many French nationals in Algeria and West Africa.-Nigeria has a functional army and has interests involved-also the Arab League.
The is are no fundamental US interests involved so we should stay out of it
MC wrote: “you’re too impressed by your Viet Nam experience”
Actually I was more impressed by YOUR Vietnam experience.
(okay, not yours personally but YKWIM. And maybe “impressed” isn’t quite the right word.)
Yes, the key to keeping a brigade or several regiments operating in the field is to make sure they know the habits of the enemy.
Not rations, or fuel, or water, or ammo.
Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. Which is why the French will get little more than lip service from the European allies in NATO, and why the brave and decent uniformed Frenchmen in Mali are going on a fools errand, because all the Salafist Muslims have to do is walk it back and lead the French away from their logistic base. In the arid sub Saharan Africa, there are no local gas stations or watering holes to keep a light mechanized company on the move indefinitely.
Build up a logistics base in Mali,…..how?
Keep how many men in the field for a long time……how?
How many helicopters are deployed for logistical supply to a column on the march? How long and far can that column move before they are in danger of being cut off from their supplies?
Hollande is a feckless weasel, much like our own Dear Leader, and I hope that he quickly declares “victory” and gets his men out of Mali before something really terrible happens to them.
16. wws
at least we aren’t ashamed, we did what we could, with your supervison
I wonder if you didn’t express a wishful thinking?
That would be such a blow to your greatness if we succeeded
Operation Castor will establish an airhead which can be rapidly reinforced to create strong hedgehog positions astride the enemy supply route. The enemy, deprived of supply, will either withdraw or destroy themselves attacking the impregnable fort.
Isn’t all this what one would expect now that America has left the field? France and other nations are not prepared for significant military actions by themselves, but there is no reason why they can’t increase their capability for war in the coming years. This Mali episode is probably the first of a string of local wars yet to come.
I think that western nations are beginning to realize that they need to beef up their armed forces, rather than pretend that the U.S. will take care of things. Regardless of whether these attempts at self sufficiency by France and other nations are a good or bad thing, whether they end well or end badly, the power vacuum created by the Obama administration’s retreat will be filled in some way.
Is this just a case of individual nations’ common sense and their increasing need for self protection taking over from Obama’s smart diplomacy and leading from behind, even though it may lead to some disasters? Or is it something else?
“Now more than ever”
The metamorphosis of Barack Obama from campus layabout to clubhouse grifter to posturing ten cent Mussolini to Richard Nixon proceeds apace. He lacks however the work ethic, intellectual gifts, or attachment to their putative cultures evidenced by either Il Duce or RMN.
The human capital still comes from outside of the Islamic world. After three or more generations of living off of the energy industry the natives are still dependent on foreign labor. Was 9-11 the measure of them at their most productive?
I do not think what the French are attempting in Mali is a particularly bad thing, it’s just I wonder how it can succeed. It’s not a question of the ability, intellect or tenacity of the French combat troops, it’s a question of the ability to support 3000 men a long way from home with no seaport to backup to.
It is the primary reason for several centuries of failure by the West in a place like Afghanistan. There is nothing really new under the sun.
#11,
It’s certainly possible but somewhat unlikely. Obama’s not going to do it and there’s an excellent chance that the 2016 election will go to the democrat’s nominee. It would take an all out nuclear war to get a democrat to launch a full scale nuclear retaliation. As a ‘proportionate’ response is a precondition in ‘just war’ considerations.
#12,
The fact that you think that the french Muslims not endorsing the AQ agenda is significant is proof positive that it is you, who does not know of what they speak.
I love that the French actually do have the balls to go in and do stuff like this. They might end up bungling it in the end, but at least they give it a go.
My feeling is that this Mali adventure is going to end with NATO having to call in Erik Prince’s new outfit, freshly equipped and trained by their Emirati patrons.
“The fact that you think that the french Muslims not endorsing AQ agenda is significant is proof positive that it is you, who does not know of what they speak.”
still your pretention to lecture me on what is going on in my country ! LMAO
What *are* the rail and highway connections from Libya to Mali?
Look, compared to US to Afghanistan the logistics challenge is quite modest, and I’m sure that’s how the French see it too – unthinkable in 1980, and now, well, it’s as mundane as trillion dollar annual deficits.
If France doesn’t have enough of their Airbus transports maybe they should contract for a dozen C-17s. I’m amazed that the US and world military and civilian suppliers haven’t back ordered a thousand of the beasts. My homies in Long Beach CA where Boeing (nee Mcdonnell Douglas) will be happy to turn up the production rate.
”We need Obama now more than ever.”
No, they need themselves. They need the courage within themselves, the courage they can only summon once they realize that they don’t really need Obama. Once they start fixing their own lives and their own condition, they become a force to be reckoned with – maybe a force toward whom Obama will bow deeply.
I applaud France’s decision. (Sadly, my applause appears to be the only power I have right now.) The United States ought to support France 100%. The fight against al-Qaeda is our fight.
Ah. The Vietnam experience. It was a drug war by another name. Even for the French. See McCoy “The Politics of Heroin” – free on the ‘net.
Or look up “Chiang Kai-shek drugs”.
You can’t understand world history unless you understand the Drug War. But conservatives don’t want to know. Funny. Only liberals and libertarians are interested in that these days. Ironic. In the extreme.
Now consider that Chicago is owned by the mob. And the mob depends on illegal profits. Is it getting clearer?
Perhaps “banks launder drug money” will help. Or not.
“The fight against al-Qaeda is our fight.”
They could be defeated easily by ending drug prohibition. That will not happen because everyone wants a cut of the profits. Ending it (the Drug War) is in no one’s interest.
See “drug money props up banks”.
So Issaka says he “needs Obama now more than ever” … where does he suppose Obama has been the past 4 years? Please tell me the phrase “If only Obama knew” or something similar is *not* in Issaka’s mind. Trust me, 0bama knows. Those who are surprised, are learning, though even then not always the right lesson …
re the drug war
AQ in the Maghreb funds itself through 2 sources
1/ Protecting drug transit of the cocaine flow into west Africa from Venezuela as it moves north to Spain-the major distribution point for the EU controlled by the Naples mafia gangs
2/ Ransoms to release EU residents and gas/oil executives they kidnap
The growing linkage between AQ and South American drug gangs is a matter of concern.
Fortunately we are on it-big time
AQ in the Maghreb will be destroyed with US intelligence and French/Nigerian/Algerian firepower.
The question is where will they crop up next?
Probably South Africa
The linkage of AQ with the Naples Mafia is still a serious concern
I just checked in after a long hiatus and the Cluubers pat themselves on the back for being outside the Matrix. Not so. They have a different Matrix for you. One that pretends to be different and in opposition to the Matrix. It is merely the same illusion from a different angle.
You guys have not peeled the onion back far enough. Not near far enough.
“Fortunately we are on it-big time”
No you are not. If that was so you would be calling for an end to prohibition.
“AQ in the Maghreb will be destroyed with US intelligence and French/Nigerian/Algerian firepower.”
US intelligence imports drugs to America. See McCoy “The Politics of Heroin”. Or look up the history of Iran-Contra with respect to cocaine importation. Ollie North’s “kilograms”. “Blandon” is a good resource for that episode. US intel has no interest in destroying the trade. Merely controlling it.
If you want some real fun look up “Rudi Dekkers 9/11″. A drug war operation gone bad? Or as intended? I haven’t made up my mind.
The Clubbers live just under the surface. I prefer to dig deeper.
What is astounding is that the information is not hidden. And yet so few look.
Who is looking? Liberals and libertarians. Too funny. And why do liberals care? Because despite all their faults (they can’t do arithmetic) they have a concern for human welfare. Conservatives are troubled by no such impulses.
Every intel agency in the world knows the game. And yet no government will step outside the game. None. You have to ask yourself. Why? We do get hints from time to time. Ex-Presidents speak out of turn. Carter and Clinton being the latest. Look up their recent opposition to Prohibition. Where is Bush on the matter?
Bush is here:
http://www.ctrl.org/boodleboys/boddlesboys2.html
Watch what Morocco and Algeria do.
But especially Morocco.
wws @ 16 & mc – Order in the court!!!!
Rather than rehashing old history, we need to figure out a way forward. Petty bickering will not do. The biggest problem is how to restore the USA as the World’s Greatest Superpower, in light of the nomination of John Kerry as Secretary of State. We need to have someone competent in charge. That excludes John Kerry.
So let us discuss John Kerry’s history in Vietnam and Cambodia, not France’s. He has claimed, many times, that Richard Nixon sent him to Cambodia during Christmas 1968. He says he still has the hat to prove it.
OK John,
STAND AND DELIVER!
SHOW US THE HAT!
Mk50 of Brisbane – You mean you see significance in the Forbes family connection to Kerry through his grandmother Forbes- and don’t like it? You are unimpressed by Boston Bhramins, AKA “Boodle Boys”?
STOP THE PRESSES!
Fox News Reports – 20 Hostages Escape, Including Americans
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/17/us-france-reportedly-in-talks-with-algeria-over-hostage-standoff/
OT – As to the Drug Trade being tied into the Boodle Boys and other Ivy Leaguers. As a descendant of Puritans from Down East, I’d offer a comment into the fact that it makes a difference whether or not one has achieved “Amazing Grace”.
Please note that when the census of 1790 was taken, the total number of slaves in Massachusetts (including Maine, which was broken off in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise) was exactly ZERO! And further, that Little Round Top was defended by men of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Round_Top
Meanwhile, by Prohibition, Massachusetts politics was heavily influenced (and corrupted) by a bootlegger, Joseph Kennedy, whose sons would be heavily tied into La Cosa Nostra, even to such an extent that JFK was “elected” by the Illinois branch of “The Outfit”, in league with the Party of Jefferson, Loyalists of the American Revolution, the KKK of Robert Byrd et al.
The echoes of the Sons of Liberty vs. the Loyalists to King George III reverberate to this day. We know Obama’s parents were a descendant of white slaveholders and a black anti-colonialist. No wonder the boy is so confused!
Maybe that is why Democrats hate the term “Liberal Plantation” so much, it is too Politically Incorrect!
”We need Obama now more than ever.”
More cow bell! Give it that Barton Obama Fink feeling.
The war on drugs and oil production is the juice that makes the world go around. We need to legalize offshore drilling and heroine production.
For all of those who say that the war on drugs is what is holding our society together I say phooey! Drugs, prostitution and gambling are rackets. Alcohol is just one drug. You are free to drink yourself to death just as easily as huff a gallon of gas a day.
We in the US spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year to enrich law enforcement who only fondle the beast while receiving million dollar tax payer provided pensions. Burst the balloon and legalize it. If you are afraid you are going to become a heroin addict, enroll yourself in a program or do us all a favor and take an overdose. Darwin is calling.
Annoy Mouse @ 38 – Do NOT conflate oil and drugs. Properly used, oil eases the burdens on Mankind and allows a more prosperous, productive life for one and all.
Drugs increase the woes of Mankind by preying upon the individual and destroying him/her. Want an example? Whitney Houston. Once upon a time, she sang like an angel. Then she married Bobby Brown!
Who became a huge influence in the music business in the 1990s? Gangsta rappers you say?
And who now put on a “show” of human dignity? Many of those same gangstas. Look behind their masks to see what is within their souls. The love of money is the root of all evil.
M. Simon @ 34 – You see the big difference between me and most people is that I do the work. So I searched “Rudi Dekkers 9/11″ as you suggested and found this http://www.madcowprod.com/2012/12/14/finally-rudi-dekkers-behind-bars-for-drug-trafficking/
It even has a picture of little John-John saluting his father’s casket!
Camelot!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzh6VKpB6qc
Don’t you just love the Internet?????
For all you music lovers who once wore a campaign button that read “I Like IKE”, here is a big hit from 1960, during the waning days of his administration, before JFK, leading from behind, misappropriated that which was not of his creation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGU3OGoAYZ4
There is no honor among thieves, such as Ali-Bama and His 40 Thieves.
The Republican Party?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgK2EaPOfzI&NR=1
So is this our Sudentenland moment? Stay out of it. Give Al Queda sub Saharan Africa and they will be happy. It is just a miserable corner of the world anyway, let them have it.
We should give the French all of what they ask for and then some. I am worried that they are going in with too little force and a logistical nightmare. The global jihad network is going to kick in with reinforcements very quickly.
This is a no brainer. Syria is going to be a much bigger problem.
Re 7. Marie Claude
“Meanwhile Strasburg is the city that has one of our biggest jewish community, halal, Kasher… it’s the same way to kill animals”
No.
Muslims can stun animals and use a shorter knife to tear the arteries, and must say “Allahu akbar” before each one. Any Muslim can do the slaughter, and they can eat meat slaughtered by other “people of the book”.
Kosher slaughter requires a razor sharp (inspected before each use) knife longer than the neck width, making a deep cut perpendicular to the arteries in one smooth motion. Only a trained butcher can perform the slaughter, and the requirements are quite detailed. Kosher meat also requires an inspection for lung adhesions and other signs of disease or deformity.
#25,
Proximity to a situation does not confer greater sagacity. What matters if the majority doesn’t support A.Q.’s agenda but does support Morsi’s? Any ‘French’ Muslim who supports the Palestinians (that would be nearly all) is no friend to France because that is an individual who places tribal loyalty above any other consideration.
Most French Muslim’s haven’t and are not assimilating. Their allegiance therefore remains with Islam, which is not compatible with liberté, égalité and fraternité. They will not be satisfied with France until Shariah rules. You might consider buying your Burka now, before the rush, as one day within the next 20 years, your life might depend upon it.
The fact that you are either ignorant of these facts or more likely in denial conclusively demonstrates your lack of sagacity. Until you remove your philosophical blinders, your views will be no more understanding of the issues than would moving even closer to one of France’s Muslim ghettos gain you.
Up to 35 hostages have been reported killed in an Algerian attempt to retake an oil facility taken over by an Islamist group. Maybe less, as reports are clarified. In a way we may be watching a reversion to an earlier form of warfare. For years the “world” public has been conditioned to expecting SAS and SEAL type rescues and US-style warfare with limited collateral damage. That cannot really be sustained by lower-tech forces fighting on a limited budget.
The danger with fighting Islamist according to some ineffective set of PC rules is that it won’t work leading in time to a desperate West applying cruder tactics from necessity. The danger is that eventually you go back all the way to World War 2 total war concepts. This is the key warning in the Three Conjectures. When the Design Margin goes out the door, brutality from necessity makes an entrance.
Saving lives requires political clarity above all. Knowing who the enemy is; attacking the centers of gravity appropriately — and often nonkinetically — for decisive effect. For years nobody wanted to bring “victory” back into the lexicon. And now the EU, and France especially, is rediscovering why the concept has existed through history. You need an end point for every conflict. The West no longer has the resources to keep kicking the can down the road.
So who is the enemy? Radical Islam. What is their center of gravity? Oil and ideology. The decisive offensive blows against them are to develop thorum nukes, indigenous energy resources on the one hand; and promote a vibrant and militant new Western culture on the other. And I don’t mean PC culture either.
The rest is holding. Holding the Pakistani and Iranian nukes back; holding the Islamists back wherever they may be found. Outing their domestic 5th columns wherever they may be found. And with any luck, just maybe the crisis will be over in 30 years with the smallest possible casualty bill.
The alternative is to supinely praise the enemy ideology; to fritter away forces in a whack-a-mole strategy even as top Western leaders meet with the masterminds of the enemy in posh venues. And in the end this will lead to the West responding in a final spasm of desperation where collateral damage will be measured in millions or billions.
One hopes that politicians will learn from their experience. The alternative is that they will keep repeating them until they eventually resolve issues through sheer blundering mayhem.
Why are the Mohammedans in Mali a threat to Civilization while the millions of Mohammedans ringing the cities in France are not? It was only a couple years ago that French-born Mohammedans in two straight weeks of rioting burned to the ground the institutions of civil life in France – churches, schools, hospitals, and businesses. The rioting occurred over the entire country which suggests solidarity among the Mohammedans if not coordination. Maybe Marie Claude will find some comfort with the memory that it was only a few old cars in Paris, but the rioting was much, much bigger than that.
Does Hollande think that he can wave the banner of French manliness in Mali without the breeze also stirring the smoldering embers in the citee? How many mosque speeches this Friday will cry about the injustice being done to the brothers in Mali?
Confronting Islamists with force of arms is a good thing but a brigade in the Sahara is a flea on an elephant. Much more would be accomplished with a simple statement from Hollande et al that there is one law code for everybody, and that it is not now and never will be sharia. If Western political leaders can’t find the fortitude to say even that then screw ‘em. The preservation of what little remains of Western Civ will have to come from outside, and probably in opposition to, the government.
There was genocide — genuine murder of innocents by the hundreds of thousands — going on in Africa not so long ago. Maybe still is. And the Beautiful People did not give a tinker’s damn. Not when they had the monster Booosh to confront.
There was a genuine threat to Europe and the world in Saddam Hussein. The French were not notable for their willingness to contribute to the cause.
If we had an actual American administration, French requests for help would be laughed from DC to Dixie. But there is only Soetero’s Band of Boys, so unborn children of American citizens will be stuck with even more unrepayable debt in pursuit of French glory.
Notice that no-one is asking Russia for help. And notice that the Islamists are not demanding that Israel solve this problem by self-immolating. No, only the BBC does that these days.
It is time for Europe to stand on its own ever-so-shaky feet.
Back to the baseline topic. Mali. Logistics, reality.
Air logistics, even with huge efficient aircraft is prohibitively expensive, and only suitable for a short period until the sea-land link is made.
Here are some Desert Storm numbers. It takes 7 pounds of fuel to delivery one pound of cargo from CONUS to Saudia Arabia/ Bahrain via air. Obviously less to Mali. Choppers? Surely you jest.
It is a 48 hour round trip.
100 or so heavy lift aircraft in inventory (side note, in Desert Storm we exercised the ability to impress civilian aircraft into service for troops to free up heavy lifters)
Allow an astonishing 90% aircraft availability, thus about 22 arrivals per day.
The first and most effective things the French can do (and their military knows this) is to develop a sea-land link.
The logistics tail will require more men to operate and protect than the expedition itself.
SOOO
It is doomed to failure.
No amount of ‘soft’ help will do it.
If you plan to go in, go in correctly.
Colonialism wasn’t such a bad thing anyway…the left just needed a wedge to devolve power from the then extant major states…so maybe France will lead the way to a new and improved colonial experiment…by OWNING the route to Mali. Nah too simple and not very pc.
ta
The War between Islamofascism and the West is entering a new phase.
The Radical Mohammadens are acquiring countries, people, resources and wealth, which will be used to bring the fight to us with a force geometrically stronger than we have seen before- and all this aided and abetted by our Boy Emperor Buraq Hussein.
Whatever your past pet peeves over what our would be allies in this war did or failed to do, those peeves should not be elevated above the need to effectively counter the Mohammaden’s multiple offensives, wherever we can. We must take this war seriously.
That said we are deep trouble, particularly in Mali. The Boy Emperor is President. His life’s goal appears to be to punish and destroy what he perceives to be the Colonial Powers and that includes America. To think that he will honestly help a true Colonial Power – France in this case- in their former colonies against his Islamofascist buddies just seems to be wishful thinking.
More than likely he will give the appearance of aiding France, while at the same time laying the groundwork for an Islamofascist victory, just like he did in Libya.
#44,
“So who is the enemy? Radical Islam. What is their center of gravity? Oil and ideology. The decisive offensive blows against them are to develop thorum nukes, indigenous energy resources on the one hand; and promote a vibrant and militant new Western culture on the other. And I don’t mean PC culture either.”
‘Radical’ Islam? Is your position that Islam itself is not inherently radical? Is it your contention that the ‘radicals’ do not, (within the context of official and universally agreed to Islamic dogma) occupy the theological ‘high round’? Is it your contention that ‘moderate’ Muslims are not Islam’s version of lapsed Catholics, simply ignoring out of convenience their religion’s precepts and tenets?
That asked, ‘radical’ Islam’s ‘center of gravity’ is ideology and oil the logistical means facilitating their expansionist aggression.
Thank you for bringing our attention to Thorium nuclear technology, it looks quite promising.
Promoting a vibrant, new and non-PC militant Western culture is at best problematic and given both the oppositional lack of support within the schools and certain to be rabid opposition of the left, probably impossible. In any case, if it should develop, it will be a resultant reaction to future events, rather than a proactive movement.
“The rest is holding. Holding the Pakistani and Iranian nukes back; holding the Islamists back wherever they may be found. Outing their domestic 5th columns wherever they may be found.”
When the Iranians get nukes, nuclear proliferation will spread into unstable, hostile, third world nations. Egypt already wants them. The Saudi’s are making preparations to obtain them. Pakistan is vulnerable to an Islamic coup backed by sympathetic factions in the military and intelligence communities. The likely trigger for that coup will be when Obama ends his aid to Pakistan, which will occur sometime after we leave Afghanistan. Even postulating that Obama wants to hold the Middle Eastern nukes at bay, what means are available to do so? The deterrence of MAD won’t work because the nuclear armed jihadist states are likely to ‘loose’ (oops!) nukes to terrorist groups…
The left is not only not interested in outing domestic 5th columns, they have and shall resist all attempts to do so. It will be difficult to accomplish that, even if 2016 sees a Republican return to the WH, a somewhat problematic outcome given the trending demographics and demonstrated willingness of the democrats to steal elections.
Not to imply that it is hopeless but other than developing thorium reactors, all of the tactics that you suggest (which I agree with BTW), the left vociferously opposes. Until our very survival is at stake, it seems unlikely that much can be accomplished and even when the need for survival is inarguable, the left and its propaganda organ the MSM, will be sowing seeds of discord and confusion and using every means possible to block any coherent response to the Islamic threat by the West.
The left is gambling that they can crush the right, by “fundamentally transforming” the US, before the barbarians enter through western civilization’s gates.
These people are evil savages who should be destroyed: immediately, thoroughly, relentlessly. No ‘boots on the ground’. Destruction from the air alone. Overwhelming. Disproportionate. Cumulative. If the terrorists hide in a mosque, a school, an orphan asylum–that’s on them. Collateral damages be hanged. World opinion be damned. Build more cells at Guantanamo & fill them up with al-Jazeera. No negotiations. Unconditional surrender.
You mean that drones aren’t the answer? You mean that guys in a room in the US with a kill list can’t fix it?
The center is collapsing onto itself. France, as willing as it may be, doesn’t have the capability to finish this. The Academie every year produces bureaucrats that will find a way to latch on to the money stream. They can’t raise taxes any more, they are running into the limits of their borrowing. All that remains is the central banks to print enough money to make it all keep going.
What scares Hollande is not what is happening in Mali. He sees the same thing happening on continental Europe; within well established boundaries and structures arises order that is not connected with the distracted and incompetent center. They might as well figure out how to sort it out in Mali before they need to do the same thing in some banlieue.
And by the way, the US president and all his hangers on are going to have to figure out the same thing. He wants to raise taxes. Great. When you can’t fund the bureaucrats to collect it, then what?
#51,
To fund it, they’ll just print more money. Besides, you don’t think they’re done both raising taxes and lowering the brackets, do you? Nor do you think that they’re done raising the amount and lowering the applicability of the death tax, do you? There are assets to be seized man! Think there must be a limit? Think again, in Scotland, 9 out of 10 Scots are receiving some form of public assistance.
First they destroy the rich, then they’ll destroy the middle class, then they’ll start the reeducation camps, then they’ll institute a nepotistic oligarchy with 99 out of a hundred as dirt poor peasants. It has ever been thus.
“Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties:
1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes.
2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depository of the public interests.
In every country [and time] these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves.” –Thomas Jefferson to Henry Lee, 1824
42. Jay
Both are made in slaughtering houses, because of the laws for sanity
http://www.defrancisation.com/carte-de-france-des-abattoirs-halalcasher-et-conventionnels/
#52. Sorry, I disagree. There aren’t the resources to implement a police state. Everyone is broke.
The talk will be the same, there will be some displays of force, but there isn’t the resources to back it up. Mali is interesting. Reading the comments here about the logistics nightmare involved made me think that someone else has thought those same thoughts and that is why they are there. These folks hear stories of causing the collapse of the Soviet Union from their fathers and grand fathers. And they are true.
The West is extraordinarily fragile. Not the people, but the institutions that we count on to carry out our day to day lives. People go along, people still fly even though they may be frisked intimately (I don’t). There is an order to submitting because there still is some return.
I experienced what happened when Canada was forced to live within it’s means. There were still the trappings of power, the appearance of order, mostly because Canadians generally are pretty orderly people. I happen to live in an area where about 15-20% of the economy is criminal, cultivation of marijuana. There weren’t the resources to enforce the law and everyone knew it. The fools were the ones who reported their income and paid their taxes. The reach and influence of government disappeared; welfare payments wouldn’t pay the rent, unemployment benefits were miniscule. Vendors put signs on their doors saying that they didn’t accept $100 bills due to counterfeiting. If there had been any demand for military protection of any kind at all, none of the trucks would have started. Literally. There was some blockade or hostage thing back then, they called in the army because a personnel carrier with armour would be useful. They had trouble finding one that would run.
This was when we had wired telephones and did banking by check and cash.
It won’t be re education camps. It will be Albania esque anarchy. If only we can emulate Japan, printing money and borrowing, we may get another quarter century. Unfortunately no one has Toyota foreign sales to generate cash flow.
43. Geoffrey Britain
“Most French Muslim’s haven’t and are not assimilating. ”
yeah, and have you watched pics of our army, legion, special forces? they are in our army since 2 centuries
“Their allegiance therefore remains with Islam, which is not compatible with liberté, égalité and fraternité.”
So far islam in France isn’t fondamentalism, but Malekism which is more tolerant and compatible with life in Societies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maliki
out of the 5 million Muslims, 50% aren’t practicing their religion
200 000 are said Fondamentalist
200 had and or have (?) a jihader profile
You should make some researches before asserting your clichés
“They will not be satisfied with France until Shariah rules. You might consider buying your Burka now, before the rush, as one day within the next 20 years, your life might depend upon it.”
Do that for your wife and daughters, Canada is a heaven for islamists, where Shariah laws are authorised, in Franc Shariah is PROHIBITED, understand tête de mule?
“The fact that you are either ignorant of these facts or more likely in denial conclusively demonstrates your lack of sagacity. Until you remove your philosophical blinders, your views will be no more understanding of the issues than would moving even closer to one of France’s Muslim ghettos gain you.”
ahahah, you’re ill placed, check your Toronto Ghettos first !
our suburbs aren’t only inhabited by Muslims, but by all the planet poor immigrants, hence breeding tanks for gangs and drugs dealers, exactly like in your big cities, moron
45. Peter Boston
The rioters in France were motivated by idleness, misery, rebellion to a closed society where they couldn’t access, certainly not by religion. The Religious Muslims don’t do that, which undermines their reputation, hence their position as a group who could have a representation in our political spectre
But did you notice that, years after years, less cars burn
19. Henri Navarre
Operation Castor will establish an airhead which can be rapidly reinforced to create strong hedgehog positions astride the enemy supply route. The enemy, deprived of supply, will either withdraw or destroy themselves attacking the impregnable fort.
You mean, like the Maginot Line?
“There was a genuine threat to Europe and the world in Saddam Hussein. The French were not notable for their willingness to contribute to the cause.”
for good reason, it was a gambling deal, not against the right enemy, which should have been Saudi Arabia, from where was monitored 9/11
Did you notice that we were in Afghanistan though? and since the beginning !
“If we had an actual American administration, French requests for help would be laughed from DC to Dixie.”
Did you know that that was under Bush administration that a CIA office was open in Paris, where our both intelligence agents worked on the islamists nets?
it’s you the laughing stock for not knowing where are the priorities
57. Don Rodrigo
Can’t you think otherwise?
Henri Navarre is right, the tanks are empty in Mali, and the Algerian border is closed, the jihadists will lack fuel soon
Marie Claude:
Back in 2002, I proposed liberating the people of the Arabian Peninsula from the House of Saud. Unfortunately, George Galloway leaked talk of that and undermined planning for it. Furthermore, the simultaneous leak of Laurent Murawiec’s presentation also undermined any push to overthrow the House of Saud.
Although liberating Iraq was not the strategy I would have picked, I went along with it. I knew that both Iran and Saudi Arabia would be fomenting revolt against us and that we could easily get bogged down. Yet, I went along with it because I knew that we needed to attack our enemies where we could and liberating Iraq appeared to be the only option available.
The anti-war crowd was not merely against overthrowing Saddam Hussein. It was against anything the United States could or would do to defend itself against al-Qaeda aggression. In essence, it was committed to disarming the American people against al-Qaeda in the name of “peace”. George W. Bush proposed overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The opposition against George W. Bush proposed nothing else. The American people were faced with a choice between overthrowing Saddam Hussein and doing absolutely nothing – and possibly even throwing Israel to the wolves.
The liberation of Najaf has led to a renaissance of Shi’ite scholarship there and has undermined the position of Qom within Shi’ite Islam. It might not seem like much, but it is a minor victory. Of course, Ambassador Bremer’s dictatorship is an example of how not to run a conquered country. His tenure has at least some superficial similarities to the reign of Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. That said, the United States accomplished about as much as one could reasonably expect in Iraq.
It is a basic rule in Muslim countries (and a few other places such as Greece and Serbia) that there is about a six month lull between the overthrow of a local tyrant and the start of a general uprising. That meant the United States was running against the clock to impose a government and then get out. General Powell may have said, “If you break it, you own it,” but he was fundamentally wrong on many different counts. Germany and Japan are always bad analogies; West Germans had an alternative of Soviet brutality in the East while Japan is an island archipelago shielded by water. In contrast, Iraq has very porous borders and is historically a cultural frontier between Arab and Persian influence. Worse, the post-WWI borders of Iraq had been so constructed to ensure a long simmering civil war.
It is nice to know that France does not actually regard war as always the worst solution. There are worse things than war, such as oppression by totalitarian forces. The fight in Mali is not in the economic center of gravity of the fight against al-Qaeda, but it is at the moral center of gravity for what we fight for and what we fight against. Liberating Mali is winnable, and we have many local allies in that fight.
In the long run, we need more geothermal energy and nuclear energy, and the best technology for car batteries we can find. In the meantime, we need to buy time to go back to the Moon and put the Middle Eastern petroleum industry out of business.
Alexis, thanks for your empathy
Some 2000 Chad desert warriors are joining the French in Mali.
I read on our Military blog that they are preferred by them to any 20000 untrained europeans
http://www.journaldutchad.com/article.php?aid=4039
Tchad: 2 000 hommes pour l’opération Serval au Mali
-http://www.journaldutchad.com/article.php?aid=4041
59. Marie Claude
57. Don Rodrigo
Can’t you think otherwise?
Henri Navarre is right, the tanks are empty in Mali, and the Algerian border is closed, the jihadists will lack fuel soon
Yes, I could think “otherwise.” To be fair I have to remember the pessimism from certain quarters about both Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. “Storm” in particular had naysayers who overestimated the capabilities of the Iraqi forces, and misinterpreted their 8-year war with Iran and their mass of arms and equipment as “expertise.”
Perhaps the French and their allies will do just fine. N. Africa and the Sahel are not new territory for them.
Looking through the comments by ordinary people at French newspaper sites I was glad to see many French pointing out that whilst their President is claiming to be fighting jihadists in Mali his government is arming them in Syria. I’m also heartened that many French see a connection between the illegal overthrow of Libya’s government and the crisis in Mali. Unfortunately, the sycophantic US media in its never ending quest to protect Dear Leader will not go anywhere near that topic.
#55,
Wherever did you get the idea that I’m Canadian? I’m a natural born American.
The only thing worse than no research is faulty research. Your assertion that out of 5 million Muslims in France, that only “200,000 are said Fondamentalist” is wishful thinking and that “200 had and or have (?) a jihader profile” is so laughable as to be utterly pathetic. Whatever shall you do when reality intrudes?
“his government is arming them in Syria.”
no it’s mere disinformation Hollande only made wishfull thinkings towards the Syrian Rebels, but he didn’t engage any arms there, that’s rather Washington ‘s, Qatar’s, London’s… !
There’s only french doctors. Hollande isn’t making the same mistake that Sarkozy did for Libya.
Check from whom the Syrian Rebels get their arms:
http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/syrie-la-nouvelle-arme-fatale-des-rebelles-29-11-2012-1535462_24.php
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2012/06/27/01003-20120627ARTFIG00675-des-armes-antichars-aux-rebelles-syriens.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/world/middleeast/doctors-without-borders-reveals-its-work-in-syria.html
#48 Unsk
I do take the war seriously, but that involves careful consideration of tactics and strategy. I will admit that at this point I tend to go along with Wretchard’s
I see their center of gravity as being the continued existence of Mecca, Medina, and associated sites.
At this point, conventional warfare would be counterproductive. We currently lack the resources to do it, with much of our military trapped at the end of an absurd supply line in Afghanistan. Further, our current National Command Authority does not want to defeat any Islamists. It is just not credible that we could enter the combat and be allowed to prevail by our own side.
If we were to enter a conventional war, it should be one chosen by ourselves, for our own interests. The recent events in the “Arab Spring” where we followed the interests of France and Italy argue cogently that following them is not in our best interests. France regards the Schwerpunkt as being Mali and Algeria. It is not, perhaps, coincidental that the energy resources of Algeria consumed by France are involved. It is at the end of a horrendous supply line that makes logistics a nightmare. It was mentioned elsewhere that the amateur talks Tactics while the Professional talks Logistics. Given the logistics-heavy nature of the American way of war; while I may not be a Professional soldier, I’ll go with Logistics.
And, knowing the reaction I will get, I have to add this. Yes, we do have a history with France for the last several generations. They start something, we come to their aid and end up taking the brunt of the costs and casualties, and part way through it they end up opposing us, criticizing us, and trying to organize the world against us. If we are to go to war on the ground, I and I suspect more than a few others do not trust the French at our back. No problem with the troops, but the government and people are another matter.
If they hurt the Enemy in this, it is all to the good. But we did not choose this particular fight, if we get into this particular fight it will be at our disadvantage, and there is every chance that the French will pull out and leave us holding the bag. France, and the Europeans, have been praying [as much as they do] and working to have the evil American Hegemon out of the way. They win for now. We are going to preoccupied with matters at home. As possibly they may be too, albeit slightly different matters. Their domestic problems may well be a mirror image of ours.
If they want to be a great power acting unilaterally, then by all means let them. If they prove that they can carry through to the end, all the better.
Yeah, I know. It is going to get loud.
Subotai Bahadur
#64
at least you would have shown a bit seriousness at looking at Wikipedia, instead of you viperine flames
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France
-http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/religion/les-vrais-chiffres_494290.html
“Le vivier des islamistes radicaux susceptibles de passer à l’acte est estimé par le contre-espionnage entre 200 et 300 fanatiques.”
-http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2012/10/08/01016-20121008ARTFIG00706-ce-que-la-police-sait-des-reseaux-salafistes.php
-http://www.rue89.com/2012/09/18/les-salafistes-en-france-un-probleme-social-pas-religieux-235402
66. Subotai Bahadur
no we start the job that you programmed for us, as far Mali, it was programmed that the US would come with boots in Mali from next march.
We don’t depends of algeria for our energy ressources, which mainly are nuclear energy, oil gas bought on the free markets in amsterdam, some gas from Russia, and our oil fields in Gabon
oh and the US have a wars program since Carter for the ME and Africa see the good Brezinski inspirators
“The U.S. confirmed in late 2011 that it was establishing secret drone bases in the region as part of a newly aggressive campaign against al-Qaeda. According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration is now considering whether to use them to strike AQIM in Mali.
If the U.S. conducts drone strikes in Mali, it probably wouldn’t be controversial in the U.S., said Bruce Hoffman, who is director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University in Washington.
“It’s boots on the ground that generates controversy,” he said.
Still, air power “can only go so far in these types of conflicts,” Hoffman said. “It’s still about winning over the local population and providing them security against terrorist retribution. That’s a French and Malian responsibility, not ours.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-15/u-s-sees-stakes-as-the-french-do-the-fighting-in-mali.html
“US Special Operations Forces had been training Malian military troops in the hopes of providing a bulwark against terrorists in the region – that is, until one US-trained soldier launched a military coup against the government.
“The coup in Mali progressed very rapidly and with very little warning,” a spokesman with US Africa Command told The New York Times this week. “The spark that ignited it occurred within their junior military ranks, who ultimately overthrew the government, not at the senior leadership level where warning signs might have been more easily noticed.”
-http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2013/0114/Why-US-is-helping-France-fight-Islamist-forces-in-Mali-Somalia
“Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, speaking to reporters during a trip to Europe, said the U.S. was already providing the French with intelligence help, citing “a responsibility to go after Al Qaeda wherever they are.” Defense officials said small numbers of U.S. troops might be sent to Mali and surrounding countries but that they would be limited to a support role.”
-http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-terror-mali-20130115,0,4876209.story
For those that can read french the edifying story of corruption in Mali under its former president ATT (and of Senegal under Wade).
“le Mali est devenu la plaque tournante de la drogue en Afrique de l’Ouest.”
http://www.agoravox.fr/tribune-libre/article/l-intervention-au-mali-revele-129011
So, the war isn’t only against islamists, but also against drugs trafficants.