France Confirms Troops On Ground in Northern Mali

[Tim]

Mali Islamists much stronger than expected: France

PARIS: French forces in Mali have been taken by surprise by the fighting strength of the Islamist radicals they are attempting to drive out of the centre of the country, it emerged on Sunday.

Aides to President Francois Hollande admitted the militants were better equipped, armed and trained than they had expected.

"What has struck us markedly is how modern their equipment is and their ability to use it," one said in a reference to the rebels' hit on a French Gazelle helicopter.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Intern ... z2HuuE0tho" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ry]

omg those darkies actually know how to use modern equipment they aren't just throwing spears like we assumed.
-Le Monde.

[JayJ]

http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/01/15/mali ... of-africa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tim]

http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/01/15/mali ... of-africa/

Excellent article. Thank you for sharing.

[Ry]

I was just about to post that. If you listen to Gerson and I talk about China next Monday you see it is all about keeping China out of Africa.

France would also love to get their hands on the gold there to pay back the Germans what they have demanded.

[Tim]

EU authorizes military training mission for Mali

LONDON — The European Union on Thursday authorized sending a military training mission to Mali to help the African nation fend off the Islamist rebels that have taken over a broad swath of territory.

The EU said the mission would provide instruction to the Malian army on matters of command and control, logistics, civilian protection and humanitarian law. It would not involve combat.

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/world ... 3612.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tim]

A Map of the Bewildering Mali Conflict

With French troops committing to a wider ground confrontation with Islamist rebels in Mali, it's worth trying to get a handle on the scale of the conflict. Some observers expect French forces to get bogged down battling a full-blown insurgency, and the reason can be summed up with one bedazzling map:

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ct/267257/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Phys]

http://youtu.be/gTzpfXmlh3I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Al-Qaeda plans to use North Africa as a stepping stone to Europe and France may witness an Afghanistan-like backlash with the US entering another war, former Pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/ajc2d9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tim]

The map I posted gives a better understanding of what's going on. It's not just France against "Al Qaeda". Mali has various nationalist groups from different tribes also competing for power. To lump them all into the radical Islamic category is ignorant, but not surprising since the media lumps any enemy of the US as "Al Qaeda".

France won't end up stuck in Mali forever. If they do, I guarantee we'll be alongside them with the rest of the EU nations.

[Ry]

Dear world when the US says they want to send military trainers... say no.